This morning (July 26) I was thinking again about my present situation. I went to a dispensing optician yesterday to find the color lens I need for my prescription sunglasses. I had my eye exam and my prescription changed. That meant new glasses. They had no American made frame available. That was shocking to me. 

I said to the Lord, “I resent the government that set up this biological warfare.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was a hidden sin that the Lord just exposed. I wrote in my journal: what does this kind of resentment do?

In truth, I have no control over anything, and need to release it to the Lord Who does. I looked up the word resent which means to feel bitterness or indignation at a circumstance, action, or a person. 

I picked up on the word ‘bitterness’ and knew my resentment was a hidden stressor that I did have control over. Resentment is a negative emotion. If left inside our hearts it can destroy our health and our sense of well being.

Resentment uses emotional energy about something that we have no control over. It circles the wagons in our thought processes. Hebrews 12:15 says that bitterness is an inward defilement that also affects those around us. 

Resentful folks seek to control others through their negative criticism.

Resentment is seeded when we judge another through our negative lens. They didn’t measure up to our flesh-driven standard. Matthew 7:1-2 says, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

I believe that the Lord has used the worldwide pandemic to reveal the hidden in every heart. I say this from my own experience. The Holy Spirit has convicted me numerous times through thoughts that came into my conscious awareness. 

He uses adversity to set us free from what binds us. Interpersonal relationships have had heated arguments, churches have been divided, and sides have been taken. We are created for unity.

The body of Christ is one body with many members. We each have a strategic function. 1 Corinthians 12:14 says, “For in fact the body is not one member, but many.” In verses 15-26 Paul wrote about how our physical body parts are necessary. 

Verse 25 says, “That there be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” Verse 27 says, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” 

Colossians  2:19 says, “…holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” More on this tomorrow.

Proverbs 16:21 says, “The wise in heart will be called prudent, and sweetness of the lips increases learning.” Verses 23-24 say, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips. Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.”

Are your bones thin and porous? You might want to ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the spirit behind your through and words. Natural honeycomb is filled with little chambers. The inside of our bones is structured like a honeycomb. The honeycomb mesh is what gives strength to our bones.

Here is a verse from a new song called Rejoicing Bones. When I thought about my circumstances I became gloomy inside. My heart was getting heavy and my peace destroyed. Then in Your Word You revealed the secret of health. My bones are affected when my heart is in despair.

Proverbs 3:5-7 was written by a man that was more wise than any before or after him. Let me summarize health from these three verses. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, not leaning on your own understanding. Acknowledging Him in every step you take. Living in a lifestyle of worship, rather than being wise in your own eyes.

The fruit of this wisdom is found in verse 8. It says, “It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.” Job 21:24 Amplified mirrors what health looks like. It says, “His pails are full of milk (his veins are filled with nourishment), and the marrow of his bones is fresh and moist.”

Are your thoughts undergirded with truth from God’s word? David wrote Psalm 51 after his sin with Bathsheba. Verse 6 says, “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” 

Verses  7-8 say, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.” The children of Israel had lost hope. Ezekiel 37:11 says, “…Our  bones are dry, our hope is lost…” Dry bones are brittle and break easily.

Through salvation we have been given a living hope, according to 1 Peter 1:3, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Isaiah 12:3 says, “Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”

No matter what our circumstances are, we can always draw water from the well of salvation in our heart. Our circumstances are always under God’s watchful eye. He will not allow anything that is not useful for conforming us to His image.

Our adverse times cause things that are buried and hidden from our conscious mind to surface. Our trials are God’s way of exposing and removing the dross that would taint our testimony. The fiery trials are essential for our spiritual growth. Let us embrace them with a heart of worship to the One Who deserves all glory, honor, and praise.

Proverbs 20:27 says, “The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart.” The literal  for ‘inner depths’ is rooms of the belly.. You might be thinking of another verse. 

Proverbs 18:8 says, “The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.” Proverbs 12:18 Amplified says, “There are those who speak rashly, like the piercing of a sword, the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

It is imperative that we listen to what we are saying, in order to discern the spirit behind what we said. Rancor means: bitterness or resentfulness, especially when long-standing. Proverbs 4:23 uses some other words. It says of our heart, “…for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Hebrews 12:15 says, “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble; and by this many become defiled.” Do you realize that your caustic, bitter, resentful, and words that lack grace, will not only wound someone but also defile them?

Many years ago I was counseling a young woman in another state. Her hair was falling out and her husband was very concerned. The Holy Spirit revealed roots (plural) of bitterness from her childhood traumas. Her response was, “I think I have a whole garden of them.”

Through forgiveness, her garden of bitter roots were uprooted and destroyed. That fallow ground in her heart was cultivated through the truth of God’s word. As Hosea 10:13 says, she had plowed wickedness and reaped iniquity. She had eaten the fruit of lies because she dealt with her past in her own way. She stuffed it so that it remained unresolved.

Her husband had discerned that her heart was not right and sought help. Matthew 12:33 says that a tree is known by its fruit. Verse 35 says, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings for evil things.”

For years I skipped over Matthew 15:19 when I came to it in my daily reading. It gave a list of things that didn’t pertain to me ~ I thought. Yet one day the Holy Spirit stopped me when He said that all negative thoughts were evil.

Here is how the verse began in explaining how our heart gets defiled, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts…” I was busted because countless times I had thought and spoken death words over my body. “I hate you body” were caustic words that I would speak as I looked into the mirror.

Self-hatred and self-rejection are evil. How dare we defile our body which is His temple! We are all created in the image of God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know…you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Walking in the fear of the Lord will give us the wisdom we need in the moment that we need it. Psalm 34:11-12 is a great exercise to put into practice. Verses 13-14 say, “Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”

Here is another way for us to hone discernment. Ask yourself these questions. Is what I say and do exemplifying the Lord? Am I truly representing Him to others? We may be the only spiritual connection to Him in the marketplace.

As we spend time reading His word daily, we are training our heart in discernment. New tellers are trained with real money. The more they handle it, the more quickly they will be able to discern a counterfeit.

So it is with false teaching. Unless we rightly divide God’s word, and understand how to apply it to our lives, we can be led astray. Peter wrote about this from experience. Do you remember the sheet full of unclean animals?

In Acts 10:13-14 Peter made an adamant statement to the Lord’s command of, “…Rise, Peter; kill and eat…Not so, Lord!…” In verse 15 God said, “…What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

Through Peter’s obedience, Cornelius and his household were saved. The gospel was preached in an Italian centurion’s home. Verse 34 recorded Peter’s opening words, “…In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.”

Beware. Our discernment can be clouded by preconceived ideas, pet inner rules, dogmas, assumptions, and negligence in reading God’s word daily. Discernment is also a spiritual gift that the Holy Spirit dispenses freely.” (1 Corinthians 12:10)

After I broke my right foot in 2013, my doctor sent me to physical therapy. Why? I was in a boot for 6 weeks, and unable to put any weight on it. Multiple muscles were weakened because my left side had to take up the slack. Everything was out of balance.

That was what Hebrews 5:1-13-4 was addressing. It says, “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to  those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

Why do we have to train young children to follow orders? They have not had their senses conditioned through past experiences. Verse 14 in the Amplified says, “….trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble, and what is evil and contrary to divine or human law.”

We learn to discriminate or distinguish from reading God’s word consistently. 1 Corinthians 2:13 says that spiritual judgment comes when we compare spiritual things with spiritual. That means that when we need to make a decision, we need to look up Scriptures that pertain. Our decision, according to verse 14, needs to be spiritually discerned.

2 Timothy 2:15 Amplified says, “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth.”

Have you ever started to do something, and then hesitated because it didn’t seem right? When that happens, we need to step back because we were just checked by the Holy Spirit. He knows what is ahead of our next step ~ we don’t. 

Psalm 23 is such a well known and quoted Psalm. I like to think of verse 2 as a small lake with water that is so absolutely still I can see my reflection in it. I would sit beside it, basking in the magnitude of God’s creation. 

I would watch the cloud’s reflections change formation, listen to the various bird songs, and just drink in His Presence. Verse 3 that follows the description of green pastures and still waters says, “He restores my soul…”

The fruit of true rest is having our body, soul, and spirit restored. Let me take you to the Song of Solomon. I read it as though I am speaking to the Lord. “O my Dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, let me see Your face, let me hear Your voice, for Your voice is sweet, and Your face is lovely.” It’s a perfect picture of intimate communion that results in heart-rest.

Matthew 11:29-31 says to go to the Lord when we are burdened, or literally bent over with heavy emotional weights. His promise is that He will give us true rest when we release the burdens that were not ours to carry in the first place.

He desires that our heart be truly yoked to His. We do that by giving Him our fleshly yokes, and receiving His which is light and fits perfectly. If an oxen’s yoke is off kilter just a little, it will injure them so that they are not able to pull a load. Our fleshly burdens cause spiritual injuries. 

Here’s a great verse. Though written to Israel, we can apply it to our own lives. It says, “…his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.”

The anointing oil speaks of the deep inner work of the Holy Spirit. Here is a line from a new song that speaks of that work. ‘Your words like oil penetrate the places in my heart that were hardened through fear.’ His whispered words penetrate like oil, meandering through tiny cracks and crevices to soften the hardness through hidden sin.

When we have disobedient unconfessed sin in our heart we will not be able to rest. Isaiah 30:15 says, “…In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. But you would not.”

We will not find rest when we continue to choose our own way. Jeremiah 6:16 says, “…Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it.”

Let us follow God’s example. Genesis 2:2 says, “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” I encourage you to evaluate how you are spending your Sabbath, and seek ways to cease your work and make time to rest in His Presence.

Not Resting: Disobedience

Releasing

Everything

Simply

Trusting

According to Hebrews 4:6, 11 we are disobedient when we do not rest in what He has provided for us. God rested on the seventh day after He finished six days of creation. He designed us so we could follow His example.

Verse 6 says of those who did not rest, “…those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience.” Verse 11 says, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.”

What does resting mean for us? Hebrews 4:10 says, “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” Ceased. The best way I know to cease from all my work, is to go into the secret place of the Most High.

As I read verse 11 this time, “…lest we fall…” caught my attention. Before I fell into the ravine (1977) I was always on the go. I purposely kept myself busy serving others so I didn’t have time to think. I even had the radio plugged in. When I walked in the front door I could flip the switch and my house was filled with noise to drown out my thoughts.

However, that all came to an abrupt halt. It was through my fall that the Lord taught me how to rest in Him. He wooed me into intimate communion. He taught me to listen to His heart beat and abide in His love.

We enter into His nature through resting in Who He is at all times. 2 Peter 1: 3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him…” Verse 4 says that we share in His nature through His promises.

He shares His secrets with those who have a heart to hear them. Job 26:14 says, “Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways, and how small a whisper we hear of Him!…” I don’t want to miss one of His whispered words.

When I read Isaiah 58 this last time, I was challenged by verses 13-14. What do I do that is resting on His appointed day of rest? Verse 13 says, “…and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure…”

When we ask the Lord for wisdom, we need to tune our heart to hear His response. He has wisdom stored up for those who walk in His truth (Proverbs 2:7). When we ‘hear’ His wisdom, we need to believe it and act on it immediately.

When we hem and haw, or vacillate we fall into error. That moment of hesitation allows doubt, fear, and unbelief to creep in. All of satan’s lies are designed to undermine our faith. However, when we immediately mix what we hear with faith, it will crowd out the enemy’s plan of attack.

Note that in James 1:5, we are invited to ask for wisdom. It is not a command. It says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

What a promise. All we have to do is ask the One who is filled with all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). The only condition is that we ask in faith. Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests by made known to God.”

The Lord knows everything that is circling the wagons in our hearts. Psalm 139:1 says, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.” He wants us to ask so that we empty our hearts before Him. Psalm 62:8 says, “…pour out your heart before Him…”

Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing God’s word. Think of a dry sponge when it is submerged in water. It becomes saturated with the water. When we saturate our minds with the living water of His word, we stabilize our heart so that it will not waver when we face temptations or impossibilities.

Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you…For everyone who asks receives…” That is exactly what James 1:5-6 said, “…who gives to all liberally…But let him ask in faith…” Matthew 7:11 says of earthly fathers, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

We arm our minds with the truth of Who God is at all times before we ask. Inward truth is like a sentinel on guard duty. We fill our mind with Scriptural promises that pertain to our need. When we ask believing that what He says is what we will do, then we prime our hearts to obey and not back out.

I love to pray specifically. I know that when the Lord answers in a specific way, it is Him and I can wholeheartedly embrace it. I remember when I received my first ‘unspecified’ prayer request. I had no clue how to pray. It took me off guard. I truly didn’t know how to ask in faith, believing.

Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” It doesn’t mean things that we can consume upon our own lusts (James 4:3). It does mean that we can thank Him for Who He is, and praise Him because He will answer according to His perfect will for us.

Large print paperback is now available on Amazon for $10.99. It is also in regular print as well as ebook. Please leave a review after you read it for others who are interested ~ thank you

Hebrews 4:2 says, “For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.” 

What does it mean to mix what we hear with faith? When we hear God’s word, we must first receive it as truth, then believe it for ourselves. Next is to act on it by making it our own. We take ownership as we implement or graft it into our thought processes.

Ephesians 1:13 is an example of hear, believe, and act. It says, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

Trusting is an active verb. Trust means to fully rest in the truth that we hear. We lean on it’s steadfastness. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Our flesh works through our own understanding. 

Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit,  and  you shall not fulfill the lust  of the flesh.” John 14:17 says, “The Spirit of truth…you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

1 John 2:27 says, “But the anointing which  you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is  not a lie, and  just as it has taught you, you will abide  inHim.”

Our trust is in the One Who is eternal. We don’t trust in circumstances, others, or ourselves because we are not in control. Hebrews 1:2 says of Jesus, “Has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.”

Colossians 1:16-17 says, “…All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is  before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Consist means to hold together. Jesus is our Creator and Sustainer. Acts 17:28 says, “For in Him we live and move and have our being…”

Our conclusion must be that He is trustworthy and faithful. When we believe that foundational truth, our thoughts will cause us act it out through our actions, attitude, and habitual patterns. God’s word within is designed to shape our character to be more like Christ. More on this tomorrow.