Measuring Stick

Greetings and blessings:

Have you ever felt like you just came out of a "doozy" of a week? Perhaps instead of a week, it has been a full month or year of just things not clicking, or better yet, it's only a day? I found myself on Monday morning, first rattle out of the box away from my quiet time into a situation that caused me to doubt myself, and the tears to flow. So much so, that I had to speak my hurt to someone, and who better after God than your soul mate. As I shared with Bill, I could honestly see that this hurt was hurting him. I wonder how many times we wouldn't do something if we would only realize how that action has a ripple effect.

Bill didn't like the idea of me taking on this hurt and placing the blame at my feet. After much discussion and tears, I said to him, what if....what if the reason for all of this is because they see GOD in me? Perhaps that is who they are rejecting? Girlfriends, can I get real with you for a moment, when those words came out of my mouth it was like a light bulb got turned on. I got so fired up, those tears dried up, and I was shouting right out loud.....I CAN DO THIS THING! Some of you might say, ok what did she do? She could have deserved those tears. I simply told someone that I loved them. Absolutely nothing more and nothing less. I LOVE YOU. I was showing them Jesus, I was being soft, merciful and giving grace. Was that not God inside of me?

I can take a lot of hurt and rejection if I KNOW that I KNOW that it stems from Christ on the inside of me. Now that is choosing joy and it is reaping joy from tears that have been sown. (Psalm 126:5-6) I honestly don't know what God is going to do in this situation, and it's a good thing that I don't. It is important that I don't get ahead of Him and allow Him to not only work in the situation, but more importantly to allow Him to work in ME!

I wonder....I know that this hurt my heart and it hurt the heart of my husband so how must God feel? God's word tells me how He feels, Zechariah 2:8b "for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye--". David also poured out his heart in the Psalms, and this touched me so....Psalms 17:8 "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings."
I'm thankful that over the years since I've accepted Christ and allowed Him into my heart, hungry for this one on one relationship with Him is that His word is my plumb line. That I'm not to measure myself against the world or with the world, but with the Word of God. What does God's Word say about me? What does it say that I should do? God's Word, that is my measuring stick, will you allow it to be yours?

For Yolanda, and perhaps for each of you, to know that we are the apple of God's eye, to be steeped in The Measuring Stick is where we are to be. This causes me also to reflect upon a great quote I came across this week. "Living for God's approval is better than living for man's applause." Author unknown.