We all live in darkness until we let Jesus come into our heart through salvation, but as I look at the picture above I am reminded that many Christians seem to have as many dark areas in their lives as those that are illuminated by the white light.

The white lines and spaces seem to billow on top of the black ones as if they are trying to cover them up, which is what I was doing by trying so hard to always show my best to others.

I grew up trying to be a people-pleaser, so it was especially important for me to make people think I was a really good person and always show them my best side. I was a good person in the sense of never causing my parents any major problems, or never experimenting with drugs or alcohol, or never getting involved in anything that was majorly bad.

In the past I have been much more concerned over what others thought about me than what God thought about me. Because of this, deep down I think I may have developed an attitude of thinking that God was pleased with me because of all my good works.

But in reality my life was like the picture above – full of bright white light on the top and then had a lot of the black spaces below. I hadn’t even realized some of the areas where I needed change. It’s funny how we can talk ourselves into believing just about anything, or choose to only concentrate on the “good stuff.” It is easy to compare yourself to another person and think of yourself as more spiritual or holy.

I  learned quickly that the Holy Spirit can be very good at revealing those things that keep you from having God’s best, but you have to genuinely want Him to do it; AND the process is (what shall I say) less than fun.

Because of pride we sometimes try to keep those dark areas hidden so that no other person knows who we really are. We seem to forget that God knows and He is the most important one.

I challenge you right now to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal things in your life that are holding you back in total surrender to God. Then in a few months you will be able to look back and see that God has been able to use you more and more as you have gotten rid of the stuff that has been holding you back.

Life will never be boring again if you will surrender to God’s plan and get in on His way of doing things.

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Tom was gracious enough to let me borrow his photo, so I wanted to put a link to his site so you can check out his really great art:

http://www.tomgraffagnino.com/

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There have been people that have received “pink slips” through email telling them they were laid off from their job. I have even  heard of one person breaking up with another through email or instant message. I guess we have just gotten to the point that we would rather send someone a message with bad news rather than tell it to them in person. That way we don’t have to do anything face to face.

Even though great things can be accomplished with electronic devices, some things should always be done in person. The photo below is an example:

I hope this is not a real form that anybody has ever used to apologize with. I have no clue who its originator is, but I don’t think I would be convinced that the person who sent it was truly sorry for what they had done if all they could do was send me this form and not tell me in person.

God convicts us of our sin against another so that we can swallow our pride, go to them, ask forgiveness, and get our own heart cleansed and pure from sin. There are some things that you can’t take a shortcut with.

The next time you do something to hurt another’s feelings, as quickly as possible swallow your pride and tell them you are sorry. You will feel much better for having been honest and it will help you to be more careful about what you say and do in the future. There is no better feeling than having a clear conscience.

We all do things we regret, and the other person can probably understand that because they have been there at some point also. In the end, they will respect you much more if you can admit your wrongs to them in person.

They can tell how sincere you are by the tone of your voice, unlike checking a block in a form.

If you always do the right thing, you will have much peace in your life. Let the Holy Spirit lead and guide you each day and you will have a much less chance of saying or doing something that hurts the feelings of another. If you do need to defend yourself or confront, He will give you the right words to say in a way that you won’t regret after you have thought about it at a later time.

Let God be in control of your words and you will have much more peace each day!

Check out my other sites:

Handbook for Victorious Christian Living - Practical ways to learn to live a victorious Christian life

Blueprint for Victorious Christianh Living

Power of the Living Word

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