We all go through seasons in life when we feel especially vulnerable and our insecurities feel close to the surface. During such times it’s easy to misread people and situations.
A trusted friend suddenly seems disloyal and distant. A co-worker pulls back and seems to be spending time with someone who doesn’t like you. You walk into church and nobody seems interested in talking to you. Your pastor walks right by without noticing you. You no longer feel like you have your boss’s favor.
When one or more of these scenarios happens in a short amount of time, it’s easy to connect the dots, draw certain conclusions, and then react accordingly. Just recently I talked with someone who had a number of ‘dots’ out there. He had some legitimate reason for concern, but deep in his soul, he sensed that God was telling him to believe the best about others, not to jump to conclusions, and to continue on with doing the right thing.
His response was exactly right and at the end of the day, the little mishaps fizzled to nothing. Imagine if he would have taken the bait, gotten big and reactionary with his friends and co-workers, and stepped out of the authority and assurance that he had in Christ Jesus.
We may have some real ‘dots’ out there, just begging to be connected, but that doesn’t mean that the picture actually exists or is an accurate one. We need the mind of Christ not to draw wrong conclusions.
From now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. 2 Corinthians 5:16
I cringe when I think of how many times I assumed people had bad motives when they didn’t, or I assumed they were mad when they weren’t. Thankfully, many of those times, I kept my feelings to myself and brought them before God and found my footing once again.
Interestingly enough though, I learned that in many of those situations, those people we’re enduring their own struggles and would have greatly benefited from an extra dose of grace and love (which comes out of fullness; reactions, on the other hand, come out of emptiness).
We all tend to misread people and situations when something in them resembles a past painful experience for us. We must take responsibility for our actions and reactions, and we must pursue deep inner healing so that our past no longer has the power to diminish our current perspective and relationships.
Remember too, the enemy overplays his hand when it comes to our unhealed areas. He prowls around, just looking for an opportunity to magnify a problem or skew a perspective. His goal is to get our eyes off of God and onto our fears and hang-ups. He wants our past to keep speaking to us. He wants our wounds to perpetuate themselves. And he wants us stuck in the prison of an earthbound perspective.
You’ve probably heard me say this before, or read it in one of my books, but it bears repeating. If the devil can get us to live in reaction to our circumstances rather than in response to God, well, then, he has succeeded at stealing our joy and robbing us of the abundant life to which our souls are heir.
Determine to believe the best in others this week. Even if their motives are off, you stay in the shelter of the Most High God and declare, My salvation and honor depend on God alone. HE is my mighty rock and refuge (Psalm 62:7). Determine too, to believe the best about God. He has your best interest at heart every single day. Even if your circumstances scream something different, refuse to draw a conclusion that disregards God’s promises to you.
For the Believer, the only conclusion that matters is the one God has come to regarding us. We are worth everything to Him. We are loved, called, equipped, and chosen. We have everything we need and then some.
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