🕊️ PRAY HERE Devotion 🕊️ NO GOD / NO CONVICTION

Your actions have to reflect God’s character. Don’t let evil fill your heart, 🙏🏽

Scripture: Ephesians 4:17–19 NIV

“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.”

Devotion :

Have you ever seen people do evil and hurtful things and wonder how they could be this way; or how they could do something so wrong? 🥺

The answer is simple:

THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM GOD.

They have no connection to the heart of God or His principles.

I unfortunately have witnessed and experienced some examples of this truth this year.

But the crazier part about this truth is the people who do heartless things but think they are close to God.

They post Scriptures.

They profess the blessings of the Lord over their lives.

They talk about how highly favored they are.

They say God is with them.

Whewww! 😮‍💨

THE DEVIL SURE CAN HAVE US FOOLED.

Because when we become disconnected from God’s will and the life of Jesus, we can get to the point where we actually start believing our WRONG IS RIGHT.

Myy my! 🥺🙏🏽

Somebody can deliberately cause harm or pain to another person and turn around saying:

“God got my back.”

“He don’t play about me.”

“God is going to keep blessing me.”

Ummmm…

Like the old saying goes:

“GOD WILL NOT BLESS MESS.”

😂🤦🏽‍♀️

God is not going to reward our evil, sinful, and emotional actions.

And please hear me:

NO MATTER HOW WE FEEL, WE HAVE TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT!

Just because somebody broke your heart…

hurt your feelings…

made you mad…

embarrassed you…

or disrespected you…

IT DOES NOT JUSTIFY YOU BEING MEAN OR VENGEFUL TO THEM.

You cannot deliberately mistreat somebody and then stamp:

“God is on my side!”

on top of it.

👀

God wants ALL OF US to do right and live according to His principles.

So let’s read today’s Scripture together, shall we?

Paul is writing to believers in Ephesus, and he tells them that now that they belong to Christ, they cannot continue living like people who are separated from the life of God.

And look at how he describes what happens when people become disconnected from God.

First:

“…in the futility of their thinking.”

IT STARTS IN THE MIND.

Whewww!

When God’s truth is no longer governing your thinking, your mind can convince you of almost anything.

“They deserved what I did.”

“They hurt me first.”

“I had every right.”

“I’m not apologizing.”

“I don’t care how they feel.”

And after you’ve repeated it enough…

WRONG STARTS FEELING RIGHT.

That’s dangerous.

Then Paul says:

“They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God…”

There’s our title.

NO GOD / NO CONVICTION.

When you continually separate yourself from God’s truth, God’s ways, and God’s heart, you lose the very standard that tells you:

THIS IS WRONG.

Not:

“Did they deserve it?”

Not:

“Did they do it first?”

Not:

“Did it make me feel better?”

But:

“IS THIS RIGHT IN THE EYES OF GOD?”

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Then Paul tells us something even more serious:

“…due to the hardening of their hearts.”

A hardened heart doesn’t happen because somebody made one mistake.

We all sin.

We all get things wrong.

We all have moments when our emotions get the best of us.

THE DIFFERENCE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GOD CONVICTS US.

Do we humble ourselves?

Do we admit:

“Lord, I was wrong.”

Do we repent?

Do we apologize when necessary?

Do we try to make the wrong right?

Or do we keep defending it until we can’t even recognize wrong anymore?

👀

Because Paul continues:

“Having lost all sensitivity…”

WHEWWW! 🥺

Think about that.

LOST ALL SENSITIVITY.

Something that once would’ve bothered your conscience doesn’t bother you anymore.

You can hurt somebody and sleep peacefully.

Lie and feel nothing.

Destroy somebody’s reputation and laugh.

Seek revenge and call it justice.

Mistreat somebody and then go post a Scripture about God’s blessings.

THAT IS NOT SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT. THAT IS SOMETHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT.

🙏🏽

Because conviction is a blessing!

Conviction says:

“You shouldn’t have said that.”

“Go apologize.”

“That attitude wasn’t right.”

“You know that wasn’t Christlike.”

“Make it right.”

That discomfort isn’t always something you should run from.

SOMETIMES THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED.

We need hearts that are sensitive enough to God’s truth that when we’re wrong, WE CAN FEEL IT.

Not condemnation that tells us there’s no hope.

But godly sorrow that moves us toward REPENTANCE AND CHANGE.

And before anybody reads this devotion and immediately thinks:

“OOOH! I know exactly who needs this!” 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

No.

THIS ONE IS FOR ALL OF US.

At the end of the day, we can profess all day that we’re right and everybody else is wrong.

But our actions reveal a lot about what’s really happening in our hearts.

And ultimately, God sees the truth.

You’ve heard:

“TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT.”

Well…

They really don’t.

Somebody else’s wrong doesn’t suddenly make yours righteous.

Their disrespect doesn’t make your revenge holy.

Their lie doesn’t justify yours.

Their cruelty doesn’t give you permission to become cruel.

And remember:

WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.

So be prayerful and intentional about your actions.

I’ve learned through God’s Word not to simply do WHAT I WANT TO DO…

BUT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT.

Because at the end of the day, after my emotions settle…

after everybody stops talking…

after the argument ends…

after the posts disappear…

after people choose their sides…

there’s one question that matters greatly to me:

“LORD, WERE YOU PLEASED WITH ME?”

🥺🙏🏽

I want to stay close enough to God that when I’m wrong, HE CAN CORRECT ME.

I want a heart soft enough to repent.

A mind humble enough to admit when I’m wrong.

And enough love for God to change my behavior when His Word shows me something in me that isn’t right.

STAY CLOSE TO GOD.

Let Him govern your heart.

Let Him correct your thinking.

Let Him challenge your feelings.

Let Him guide your actions.

And never become so convinced of your own righteousness that you lose the ability to say:

“LORD…MAYBE I’M WRONG.”

That’s a dangerous place to lose.

🙏🏽

Reflect & Respond

Today, don’t examine everybody else’s behavior.

EXAMINE YOUR OWN.

Ask yourself:

Have I justified something wrong because somebody hurt me first?

Have I become comfortable doing something that used to convict me?

When God corrects me, do I repent, or immediately defend myself?

Is there somebody I’ve hurt that I need to apologize to or make things right with?

And finally:

“DO MY ACTIONS SHOW THAT MY HEART IS CLOSE TO GOD?”

Don’t answer too quickly.

Sit with it.

Ask God to show you YOU.

Because conviction isn’t our enemy.

CONVICTION CAN LEAD US BACK TO GOD.

🙏🏽

Prayer :

Lord, search my heart and show me where I’m wrong. Help me to respond to things in a positive manner. Let my thoughts, feelings, and actions be righteous. I want to be close to You so that You can lead me. Give me a heart of conviction so that I may feel godly sorry when I’m wrong, repent, and make my wrongs right.

In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen. 🙏🏽💙

💙

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