Expectations and Brokenness

– May 27, 2017 – 

Judgement, expectation, and pity are all attitudes of inequality; as well as comparison, brokenness, and condemnation.

Too often though, the first group of attitudes are outward and the second group are inward attitudes. Outward attitude generally comes with some level of anger or resentment, while the inward attitudes often stem from worthiness.

Outwardly, we can “bite our tongue,” but inwardly, that voice is like a foghorn that pierces every thought. We are told we should “take every thought captive,(2Cor 10:5)” and to think on “the fruit of the Spirit…self-control (Gal 5:22-23).”

It is easy to think of ourselves as better than someone else. This is a prideful response! Inwardly, it is more common to think with humiliation. This is a distortion of comparing ourselves to some lofty perfection.

Pride and perfection are attributes of sin and come from satan, not God.

God wants our brokenness and contrite heart (Ps 51:17), so He can use His art of Kintsugi, (The Japanese art of rebuilding broken pottery with gold and resin), to “make us a new creation.” What the world sees as scars, God sees as a new creation.

David pointed out in His prayer at the end of Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts; see if there is any hurtful or offensive way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” of your thoughts.

We should seek out and hold captive our thoughts and attitudes, then compare them to the thoughts of Jesus. When our thoughts and attitudes aren’t equal with His, we should cast our thoughts and attitudes into the lake of forgetfulness, and never go fishing for them again.

(Photos of Our Daily Bread daily devotionals)