It’s so easy to be caught off guard by someone or a situation. It has happened to me countless times. To the point that I FINALLY realized God was trying to tell me something about my reactions.
Even when we are going through life on our best behavior and trying to handle everything in a way that is pleasing to God, we can NOT control what others say or do to us. We can only control our own reactions.
I discovered that when I was caught off guard, I reacted more out of my flesh because I was taken aback by what was said to me. I wasn’t expecting it and my reaction was not what I would have liked for it to be after I had more time to digest everything.
(It was kind of like coming up with a REALLY good come back to a smart remark three days later when it didn’t matter anymore!)
How to handle these types of situations?
The main thing I asked myself when God revealed a bad reaction (of mine) to me was "Why did I do that?" Or "Why did I say that?"
Sometimes, my answer would simply be, "I don't know."
And God, in all of His wisdom, showed me it wasn't what was said or done to me that caught me off guard that was the problem but my reactions were very revealing. They uncovered a bad place in my own heart. An area He saw in me that displeased Him and I was oblivious until He brought it to my attention.
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23
Everything you do flows from it...especially your reactions to others.
God is in the business of making His children like Jesus. When He sees an area that needs work, He points it out. (I guess I'm just slow and sometimes it takes a few times for me to pick up on the problem.) But I'm thankful He loves me enough to correct me and to show me where I fail and can do better.
Guard your heart and do not be caught “off guard”…it’s very EASY to do
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