Daily Devotionals
Friday, May 3, 2024 (Ashley)
Something happened this week that exposed a bad habit of mine. Don’t you love it when that happens? You are just walking along, minding your perfectly perfect business when the Holy Spirit swoops in and knocks you right on your sinful butt!
What I was recently convicted of is the habit of overlooking people. Now, in my defense, I’m a very polite person. My husband even makes fun of me for being overly cheery when engaging with cashiers, clerks, or other everyday strangers. But as I realized this week, I do have a history of prematurely writing people off based on the opinions of others or drawing my own conclusions too soon.
Let me give you an example. I have had a person in my life who, for years, painted the picture of someone close to them, in a poor light. For lack of a better judgment, I believed the person in my life. When she said the other person was, “crazy”, I believed her. When she said the other person, “wasn’t to be trusted”, I believed her. But recently, circumstances have required me to get to know this person on my own. And on my own, I am realizing that this person is not who I was told they were.
Not only are they not crazy or not to be trusted but they have actually proved to be quite supportive, understanding, and helpful. For years, I was never rude, but I did brush this person aside, not truly getting to know them or engaging in long conversations. Now here I am faced with the reality and honestly, feeling like a big jerk about it!
Look at what the Lord told Samuel when Samuel first found out that the youngest of Jesse’s sons would become the next King, King David. “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7
This warning probably isn’t new news to you. We all know this, right?
•That we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover…
•That looks are deceiving...
•That things are often not what they seem on the outside…
But sometimes it’s the simplest things that get overlooked and cause some pretty big problems. We become overly confident that we would never judge someone because … well, we know better. Yet, little by little we fall short. The enemy waits for us to become arrogant and slips in a little bit of temptation here, and a little bit of temptation there, and soon, we find ourselves faced with the reality that we have failed to follow one of God’s warnings to us.
Friends, I encourage you to ask God to search your heart today and expose any area that you have potentially been overlooking. Ask for his forgiveness and guidance in moving forward in a direction that brings glory and honor to Him!
It stings to admit our shortcomings but his grace redeems us daily!
Ashley
What I was recently convicted of is the habit of overlooking people. Now, in my defense, I’m a very polite person. My husband even makes fun of me for being overly cheery when engaging with cashiers, clerks, or other everyday strangers. But as I realized this week, I do have a history of prematurely writing people off based on the opinions of others or drawing my own conclusions too soon.
Let me give you an example. I have had a person in my life who, for years, painted the picture of someone close to them, in a poor light. For lack of a better judgment, I believed the person in my life. When she said the other person was, “crazy”, I believed her. When she said the other person, “wasn’t to be trusted”, I believed her. But recently, circumstances have required me to get to know this person on my own. And on my own, I am realizing that this person is not who I was told they were.
Not only are they not crazy or not to be trusted but they have actually proved to be quite supportive, understanding, and helpful. For years, I was never rude, but I did brush this person aside, not truly getting to know them or engaging in long conversations. Now here I am faced with the reality and honestly, feeling like a big jerk about it!
Look at what the Lord told Samuel when Samuel first found out that the youngest of Jesse’s sons would become the next King, King David. “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7
This warning probably isn’t new news to you. We all know this, right?
•That we’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover…
•That looks are deceiving...
•That things are often not what they seem on the outside…
But sometimes it’s the simplest things that get overlooked and cause some pretty big problems. We become overly confident that we would never judge someone because … well, we know better. Yet, little by little we fall short. The enemy waits for us to become arrogant and slips in a little bit of temptation here, and a little bit of temptation there, and soon, we find ourselves faced with the reality that we have failed to follow one of God’s warnings to us.
Friends, I encourage you to ask God to search your heart today and expose any area that you have potentially been overlooking. Ask for his forgiveness and guidance in moving forward in a direction that brings glory and honor to Him!
It stings to admit our shortcomings but his grace redeems us daily!
Ashley
