Words of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 6 Apr 2009

Words of Encouragement for Every New Day ~ 6 Apr 2009

Picking your battles – against family God has purposed everything. The father, mother, sister(s), and brother(s) that God has given to us cannot be changed or replaced. Sometimes we may wonder, “Why on earth did God create me in this family?” God has a reason and a purpose. Those that can look beyond hate, hurt, and circumstances are victorious. Those that can’t, have already LOST without even stepping on the BATTLEFIELD. If we have unresolved issues with our immediate family, I hope that we would remember this: We have already lost the battle without even stepping on the battlefield. Proverbs 11:29 He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise. 1 Timothy 5:8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. We cannot hide the truth from family. Friendships are important and great, but it is easy to, “put on a show” and cover-up who we really are when no one is watching. The people that we live with day-in and day-out are the best because we cannot put on a show. Most often these people are our families and they get to see the true colours (good and bad). We cannot and must not tolerate the bad colours. Rebuke, correction, and wounding of our character, are all important in life. If we cannot be corrected, if we are too stubborn to change, we are responding childishly and we will never be able to live out our destinies to the fullest. When we rebuke and correct the wise man he will love you. Proverbs 9:8 Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will love you. Love, honour, respect, but whose voice speaks loudest? Loving, honouring, and respecting our family are all so important. Especially towards our parents, as God’s commandments indicate. However, the voice of our Lord must speak the loudest. We must love our family, but sometimes family can get in the way from allowing us to fully be the man/woman that God has made us to be. The choice to listen to God’s voice can hurt our families, but in the long term, watch and see God will bring resolution and healing. The battles we face with our family can hurt the most. I pray that we would never allow money, unforgiveness, and correction to stop us from loving our family more and more. If we allow every bad thing in life to stop us from loving our family more and more, we have lost the battle without stepping on the battlefield. There is not a better way of putting this. I hope we will gain a different perspective when we face battles with our family from now on. © 2009 Lee Shaun Tzen. www.everynation.org.sg archive: www.shauntzen.blogspot.com