Sharpen Your Spiritual Ears
This is the hour to sharpen your spiritual ears to what is being said to you.
Being a person who understands the importance of words, I listen with an understanding of what is being said, and also what is not being said. Sometimes as you engage in conversations, people will inadvertently tell their heart to you.
I have learned the art of listening with the Spirit, to the life of the words that are spoken and even written. When you listen with the Spirit, you can feel the emotions of what was said in the manner it was spoken. You can truly hear the emotions of the person being revealed in their words.
Somebody just said something to me while I was typing this, concerning my last post on offenses. She said you have to understand the root cause and why the people’s actions are like they are.
I certainly understand that there is a cause as to why people act sometimes like they do, but in getting to the root cause, the person must yet acknowledge the problem before deliverance can come.
I got their point, but I have found in dealing with those who come for help that even sometimes when you find the root, it takes a while yet for the person to acknowledge that the problem is yet within them.
You have to renew their mind and get them to see themselves. Their point was valuable and certainly, we do go to the root. I always say you can’t kill something if the root is yet there.
Killing that root is often the hardness part of the deliverance, because sometimes it’s been there for a long time. Wrestling with the root and with their flesh can be an intense battle.
The greatest lesson on being delivered myself from offense is when my Pastor sat me down and made me self examine my own self. As I begin to examine my life, I found that there were times that I made judgments about people based on my past experiences.
I realize my attitude came because I refused to stop digging in the past concerning my hurts, pains, failures and disappointments that I had received. I checked myself and found that I didn’t give people a chance to explain their actions or words, but that I automatically assumed they were saying or doing something derogatory.
My leader recognized that I was one who needed tough love, so he tackled my offense problem in a different way. You also have to know how to deal with each person according to how much they can take.
God will tell you how to deal with people individually, because every person is different. With me he had to come strong, direct, and with no nonsense, because I have a strong personality. What he did to bring me to a place of accepting my actions and getting delivered, was, when somebody would do something to me, He made me go apologize.
Whenever I did, or said something that was related to being offended, He would immediately rebuke and correct me. When I would act out of character, I was immediately chastised.
Sometimes I would cry when I got alone, because I would not dare go against Him and ask God why He was so hard on me, why He didn’t let me get by like others. God would just say His grace was sufficient and obey those that had rule over me.
I suffered, I humbled myself, I obeyed and after a while my mindset changed and I began to see that some people truly loved me and was only helping me to grow, by disciplining me and correcting me when I allowed my emotions to overtake me.
I thank God, for those lessons that I learned that have taught me to just think before I act or speak, and how to remain clear of offense.
I got to the root of my problem when I recognize that I was the problem, because many times after being offended, the person would apologized, but I choose to hold on to what they did.
They was happy, while I was miserable.
I finally learned not to be miserable and enjoy life. And God gave me laughter to keep me from allowing the offenses to bind me.
Many people may not understand why I laugh things off and some may get upset, because I don’t let their words or actions control me, but I have learned to step back from situations until I can handle their actions without becoming offended or angry about them.
Loving people is a adventure and experience, but it’s the love of Christ that helps you to remain without offense!
~ Apostle Barbara R. Thomas
Apostle Barbara R. Thomas is founder of I Come to Heal Ministries, A Woman’s touch Ministry, The Next Dimension Global Outreach Ministries and Spoken Word School of Ministry and is on a mission, traveling the world, proclaiming the Gospel, for souls to be won to the Kingdom of God. She has life mandate to help bring others to their divine purpose.
Amen!