WHAT HURTS YOU - HURTS THEM
(Recognizing Spiritual Grief)
The
Lord has shown me many things this morning, leading up to what I am trying to share in simplicity.
For
me, I have found, that when I sense grief in my own spirit, that the Holy Spirit is also being grieved.
Let’s
start with our own grief since that is the easiest to understand.
When someone is unkind to you and hurts your
feelings, you “grieve” and the Spirit of God grieves. Don’t deny the grief. Don’t
blame yourself if you were not unkind to them. Accept that this unkindness grieves the
Holy Spirit who dwells in you.
Anything that works against the Law of Love,
grieves God’s Spirit in you.
Try not to become emotional about it: just
begin to recognize that your spirit experiences the same grief that God does.
It hurts you wherever you see an unkindness,
whether it is towards someone else or towards you. It grieves you when you sense pride, selfishness,
disrespect for God and His children or His world or His ways.
Please take time to recognize what is happening
in what you see or hear from the actions and words of others. Ask God to show you what is causing
this grief in your spirit.
This is not judging others as you have been
taught to believe, but as a sincere child of God, you seek truth. At this point you are receiving discernment.
With this discernment of truth over a lie, you
no longer call evil good or good evil. You allow yourself to accept what you see as “true”.
It
is very likely not the only area that
is working against the person who has hurt you with their words or actions…but, it is strong
enough evidence that they need prayer in this area. So you help them by praying for them immediately.
(Not out loud in their presence.)
What hurts Jesus, hurts you. It’s
okay to become more sensitive to the needs of those in your environment.
When you hear words of prejudice, selfishness,
idolatry, legalism, unforgiveness,…ask yourself if one of these seems to be the cause of your
grief. These grief givers usually come from your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Those who are not in God’s family by their
own choice (or lack of choice), do not know better. Your grief for them leads you to pray for
their Salvation.
NO DENIAL
So, I’m
asking you not to go into denial when
your spirit is grieved. It means something is out of God’s order. He wants you
to see what it is, so you can pray for your friend or loved one.
Yes, by now, you are probably wondering why
I’m not suggesting that we consider the grief we cause others with our words and actions. I’m
certain that you already know the answer to that. Besides, if I go “there” today,
this “Fresh Bread” could turn into a 100 foot loaf, and we could miss the simplicity of
what God is showing us today. Now, that would “grieve” my spirit should I miss the
simplicity of this lesson.
Our
Lord wants to KEEP IT SIMPLE.
He
wants us to recognize HOW others can “grieve
our spirit”. Let’s give it a name, and begin to pray for them in that area.
WHAT HURTS YOU, HURTS THEM
This is not as prideful as it sounds because,
what hurts you; hurts them and God tells us to pray for one another. We do not need to
tell them about the speck we see in their eye, but neither should we ignore it when God is calling
us to prayer. If we deny the speck, it may grow into a log…but when we pray, we can BELIEVE
that God will remove it…so that it no longer hurts them or others.
ACTION: Now, if the things I share
cause your spirit to grieve… please pray for me. I mean it!!! I think one reason our
Father asks us to pray for one another is because it is very hard to see the logs in our own eyes,
much less the specks.
This lesson should make it a little easier to
recognize when the Holy Spirit is being “grieved”. The same Spirit abides in us.
“And
grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto
The
Day of Redemption.” (Ephesians
4:30).
DO YOUR FRIEND A FAVOR
STOP…The
Grief
LOOK…At
The Cause
LISTEN…To
what the Lord says
FORGIVE
PRAY FOR THEIR NEED
And
GET ON DOWN THE ROAD
