What the Eyes Refuse to See

Today's Reading: 1 Timothy 5

Scripture:

"The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others their sins follow after." 1 Timothy 5:21

Observation:

This is a great reminder that what the eyes see is not always evidence of what is truly taking place.

Application:

There are certain sins that are front and center in my life. I know everything about them. I have wrestled with them, waged war against them, won victories over them and suffered defeats against them. They are constantly before me as they have been clearly identified.

Then there are sins of which I am not aware. These are the ones that scare me to death. They are blind spots in my life that will only be revealed in one of two ways. First, I can let time prove them sinful by allowing the results of their depraved work to be made public. This is a bad strategy. A "only time will tell" approach to choices I make is a very painful way to learn hard lessons.

The second option is to spend time with God, seeking His truth, and allowing Him to reveal these things to me either through His Word or through another believer. While this is clearly a better choice it is also a harder choice. To do this successfully means that I must be humble enough to consider myself guilty until proven innocent. That does not mean that I am guilty, it just means I consider it possible and allow God to weigh in on the subject.

Prayer:

Father my pride tries to protect me by placing guards around my ego. It is constantly on the defensive regarding what it perceives to be attacks. I have allowed my pride to create defenses against fellow believers who love You and love me and desire to tell me the truth about something they see in my life. I ask that You forgive my refusal to accept these acts of love.

Father I pray that my self-confidence be grounded in You and for it to be in no way associated with my perception of myself. Help me to not become fixated on the sins that I already know about, but to seek insight regarding the harmful patterns of behavior to which I am blind.

Please help me to not be abrasive to people who care enough to share their view of what is true about me. My willingness to hear hard things from others will spare me many tough lessons. I ask that You surround me with people who lovingly correct me back towards You. Help me accept what my eyes refuse to see.