I was thinking today about some of those quiet ( hopefully) unseen attitudes that are in my heart. It is so easy to smile and nod, say kind things all while in your heart, you hear the whispering that you are so thankful they cannot hear.
I felt that this week. I was nice enough but through the entire conversation, there was a storm in my heart. I said all the right things. Later, I was talking to God about it. ”. What is it that skews my view so I cannot see clearly, or that causes the storm in my own heart. That is when I started to think- maybe I have sticks in my eyes.
God pointed out to me it is sometimes jealousy, bitterness, envy, anger, hurt, fear, stubborn attitudes - all of these and more I am sure, can skew my view and likely anyones view if we are to be honest.
The next question I asked the Lord was what kind of sticks are in my eye. As He kindly mentioned them to me, I confessed each one.
I thought about how even when a bug flies in my eye, how hard it is to see, how much worse when it is a stick!
In Matthew 7:3-5” Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
When I was praying today, I did not feel like there were multiple planks as I have walked with God awhile but I have to say, there were a few sticks there. And He showed me this. Maybe I have found a way to look past these things for awhile, but now, they are gone. All confessed and the Lord has taken them out.
How is your sight these days? What kinds of plank or sticks are in your eyes? It is funny, how easy it is to see who needs to get the sticks out of their persons eye- but so hard to stop long enough to realize, there are indeed a few sticks in our own!