I want to point out what I’ve noticed as the subtle yet distinct way that God’s voice differs than the devil’s. If you ever feel like you can’t help others or God can’t use you BECAUSE of the logs in your own eyes (we all have them), that’s the devil….He condemns while God lovingly reveals and stands by ready and eager to help.
As we seek a closer relationship with the Lord, He will reveal characteristics that we need to work on. This isn’t to shame us, but to help us grow closer to Him and become more like Him. That’s what we’re praying for, right? To be as close as possible. Because of this, He lovingly reveals so that we are aware.
“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Luke 6:41-42 (NLT)
Jesus’s words weren’t always warm and fuzzy…Still, we trust that He was and is love. So, how is this loving? Because until He reveals our logs, we don’t know the true difficulty of removing them and the power it takes to do so. Yet, it happens all the time. We’ve all been told how to live or change by someone living the exact same way in a different way. Logs.
It takes a person who’s had that specific log to truly empathize with someone who has the same. They have it for a reason, just like you did. And still struggle with today. These logs may also be our thorns like Paul struggled with. The weaknesses, hurts, vices, sources of comfort that we still fight the tendency of. It’s loving when the Lord reveals it to you, so you can ask Him to help you. It’s humbling and eye opening, yet lovingly so. This is the only way anyone else will find true help and healing from it as well. The only way, so it is the most loving. Because, He works.
We can construct a log cabin with our logs or we can throw them into a campfire by giving them to God as He reveals them. Over and over again. I believe that in His loving kindness, He continues to reveal our entire lives if we continue to ask Him to. It keeps us extremely humble and aware of others difficulties.
Scripture says nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39), thank you Jesus! But, I also want nothing to get in the way of our relationship and that starts with me….By pointing out my logs, He’s doing just that. Lovingly reminding me…”You need me, Darla. Everyone does.”
Then and only then will we know the pull of our personal logs, the necessity of His power, and be able to really help and point others to the only One who can help with that pesky speck in theirs.
I don’t want to be a hypocrite in any form of the word. Whatever He needs to do, however He needs to humble, whatever I need to know, I ask Him to reveal. He doesn’t tell us all at once, He lovingly reveals only when He knows we are ready to be receptive with Him. Some are much harder than others. He’s a patient, loving Father.
The devil tells us this is why we aren’t worthy of our calling and should stop telling others about Jesus. But, this is exactly why the Lord says we are. Because if we know we need Him every single day, we’ll know others do too…
The Love We Crave 