LIVE Moments: check yourself before you wreck yourself

Monday, May 21, 2012

When Asses Speak!

The wise see danger ahead and avoid it,

But fools keep going and get into trouble.

Proverbs 22:3 NCV

Can you imagine conversing with an ass? Well, that’s exactly what took place in the life of the Biblical character named Balaam.[1] Purposefully ignoring Love’s Words, Balaam chose to stubbornly forge ahead and do something Love explicitly told him not to do. Somewhere on the journey of deliberate disobedience, the donkey [ass] he was riding saw Something Balaam didn’t see–danger. Due to his stubborn pride, Balaam beat his faithful donkey three times for not doing what he desired for the donkey to do which was to keep going straight in the direction of danger. Finally Love stepped in and allowed Balaam to see exactly what the donkey had always seen–danger! As we take a pause to reflect on Balaam’s choices and the donkey’s response, who would you say really was the foolish ass that day?

Then the Lord gave the donkey [ass] the ability to speak.

Numbers 22:28 NLT

Now let me ask you this question…Have you ever had a conversation with an ass? No; I am not speaking of a donkey. However, I am speaking of an individual who you may perceive to be “stupid or silly,” “obstinate or perverse”.[2] Recently as I was reflecting on a past season of my life and some of the challenges I endured, Love revealed to me that He had been speaking to me regarding the situations the entire time. Please know…unlike Balaam, I was not in deliberate disobedience. However, at the time, I did not position myself to be spiritually conscious of His Voice and hear to heed the divine warnings simply because Love chose to speak through a few of the asses in my life. Consequently, instead of hearing Him, I was looking at them. Wrong!

Because Love is a Master Teacher, He never desires for us to be taken by surprise, caught off guard, or walk into harm’s way. Therefore, Love continually releases Truth with the hope and expectation that we will awaken to The Truth, then agree with The Truth, and finally come into alignment in our decisions (mental assent) and choices (faith in action) regarding The Truth. But, during that season of my life, I got caught out there–for real! Why? Again, Truth was being spoken through people whose words I had grown to devalue. Unfortunately, because I perceived certain aspects of their lifestyles to be dishonorable, I therefore found their words to be unfounded. Again, I was wrong!

By ignoring The Voice of Love simply because I didn’t fully approve of the person He chose to speak through caused me to endure some unnecessary pain and incur a few avoidable emotional wounds. I had to accept The Truth that Love was always there and always speaking; I had unintentionally chosen not to honor His Voice.[3]

Today, I encourage you to learn from my unfortunate and unwise choice to ignore and dismiss The Words that Love was speaking to me simply because of how I viewed the vehicle of communication. I sure have! Again, had I recognized Love’s Voice coming through certain asses in my life, the consequential pain experienced could have been avoided. Choose to embrace the revelation that Love still speaks through asses, and the one(s) speaking to you right now may very well be Love’s chosen mouthpiece of Truth. Always remember, regardless of the deliverer or even the style of presentation, Love desires your success and He just might use an ass to get you there.

[1] Numbers 22

[2] Webster’s New World Dictionary (Cleveland: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2003), p .38.

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. (Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1990), p. 108.

[3] Hebrews 13:5 AMP

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Julianne Pearson is an Author, Relationship Strategist, Speaker and Trainer. She is the Co-Founder of the LĪVE! movement, a speaking, training and coaching organization committed to developing extraordinary people, families, and businesses. Through her books, seminars and training workshop sessions, she empowers her readers and listeners to rise up to their first level of consciousness in order to advance the Kingdom of God on this earth.

Contact: yourlifeislive@gmail.com

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Five Degrees of Self-Correction

Don’t Wreck Yourself!

Do you realize Truth is being revealed to you on a daily basis? That you really don’t have to endure a painful experience or hardship in order to learn a lesson? That is exactly right. The Master Teacher of all times desires that we come into alignment with Truth without experiencing unnecessary pain. For instance, if you saw me put my hand on a burning stove, burning my hand to a crisp, would it make logical sense for you to come right behind me and do the same thing? Of course not! However, oftentimes although we are privy to the unwise choices of others as well as the adverse effects, many still decide to follow suit. We deliberately choose to burn our hands, so to speak, simply because we chose to ignore a painful personal lesson that had already been taught to someone else. Can you see the lack of wisdom that lies in that belief system?

I believe we have allowed the enemy of our souls to get us twisted up in the head with the erroneous belief system that glorifies personal struggles. Please believe, we don’t earn any extra strikes on the belt of life when we come into alignment with Truth through a painful experience. This is not Wisdom! Its just plain stupid! Our King is forever releasing the Light of Truth in the dark places of our lives, and it’s our responsibility (meaning, ability to respond) to come into agreement with that Truth as soon as possible. When we choose to ignore the Truth that has been revealed, we are deliberately choosing to walk further away from Light and into darkness.

As I reflect for inner peace, I am able to see the times Truth was revealed to me regarding some personal adjustments that needed to be made. Unfortunately, there were times I was unconscious to the Truth that was being revealed. At other times, the Truth was too painful to deal with or I lived in denial to what was being revealed. However, there were those times I purposefully ignored The Truth because of rebellion! I wanted to do things my way – regardless. Unfortunately, during those times, each step led me further away from Light into darkness which invited the same damned things into my life over and over again. When I say damned, I am speaking of things that are the products of darkness – defeat, despair, disaster, debt, dearth, desperation, dejection, demise, and eventually death, to name a few.

In my opinion, one of the most unfortunate parts about these damned things is the fact that I’m not the only one that was subjected to their destruction. Those who were in fellowship with me in any capacity were also subjected to feel the effects of these damned things as well. More and more I began to realize just how selfish I had been to continue ignoring the revelations of Truth that were lovingly being revealed to me. Every single time I took steps away from the Light of Truth, I – knowingly or unknowingly – caused collateral damage that often cost me and others greatly. Please know that the cost of collateral damage is oftentimes way more than financial expenditures. You can always make more money; however, there are some costs that are difficult to recover, most notably the faith and trust found in a valuable relationship.

Check Yourself before You Wreck Yourself!

Anonymous

Therefore after reviewing my own life as well as the lives we have the privilege of reading about in The Word, I’ve re-discovered the Five Degrees of Self-Correction. Understand that as we move down the list of degrees, the personal pain and collateral damage always increases. Acknowledging Truth, as soon as possible, wards off dealing with the unnecessary pain that comes with ignorance. The Five Degrees of Self-Correction are:

1. Diction

2. Situation

3. Affliction

4. Destruction

5. Utter Destruction which leads to Death (When I speak of death I am not speaking of being void of breath. I am speaking of being void of Life.)

Again because Truth is always being revealed, it is our responsibility to become spiritually conscious to Its relevance in our lives. Remember, when one chooses to walk away from the Light of Truth, they are walking further and further into the realm of darkness which makes them open prey to the malevolent schemes of the enemy. Interestingly enough, although we may be dismissing the rays of Truth that are being revealed into our lives, satan is not. What you choose to ignore, he waits patiently to bring the greatest destruction to your life in one fell swoop. This includes destruction in the lives of all those attached to you as well.

In conclusion, take a few moments to pause for personal reflection. As you reflect over a painful experience of your past, was it that what you didn’t know hurt you or what you didn’t acknowledge brought the injuries? Either way, allow me to encourage you. The Spirit of Truth lives and dwells on the inside of every Believer. Therefore as Believers, we already have the capacity to live life from the inside out. This gives us the divine privilege to experience the abundant life Christ Jesus promised was already ours. As Believers, we are fully equipped to come into alignment with Truth. It’s a matter of choice – life or death. The question is, “Which one will you choose?”