God knows those things about us that no one else knows and that we are ashamed of and hate about ourselves, and He understands why they are there, and why we do them even though we are ashamed and hate them. That means that He understands us better than we understand ourselves, because the only thing I understand about those things is that I am in need of His grace to be able to not do the things that I hate that I can't not do on my own. So there is no one that is totally misunderstood, just as there is no one who is unloved.
But that misunderstanding that I was understood was not the worst part of the message of that poster. Who do you think I thought about whenever I looked at that poster? Correct. No matter what was going on, no matter how good my day may have been going or if I was just waking up, when I consciously saw that poster, I thought of myself and slipped into self pity. I can't say I simply slipped into self, because during that time of my life, I don't think I ever slipped out of self.
Seeking to be understood and insisting that others somehow understand us above all else is selfish. It is also, if we are honest, an excuse and manipulation to act selfishly. If you understood me and what I have been through/ am going through/ what I am facing you would understand why I messed up like that/ need to [fill in the blank with selfish, often destructive behavior]/ why I'm putting what I want above your needs, and you should just let me do it and not hold it against me or make me suffer any negative consequences. I sometimes wonder if I really wanted to be understood as much as I wanted to be excused and allowed to do what I wanted to do without consequence.
It also is a barrier to love, because seeking to be understood above all else builds a wall between us and others. That seems wrong, doesn't it? Shouldn't seeking understanding foster unity? Seeking understanding might bring people together, but seeking understanding for self and insisting on it as the basis for relationship causes separation. We don't always understand ourselves. How can we make understanding us be a prerequisite to relationship? We are told to look for the similarities and not to focus on the differences. Seeking to be understood rather than seeking to understand is the opposite of that.
Right now we have cities burning in pain and hate because for far too long we, as a country, have focused on the differences between us instead of looking at the similarities. We have families being torn apart over differences of opinion and belief. The more the call goes out for understanding and tolerance, the more we seem to be getting ready to torch everything. Man's ideas on understanding have failed.
But Jesus understood. He loved, and He understood what was going on in the lives and hearts of everyone He encountered. And while that understanding didn't lead Him to excuse or ignore sin, it did allow Him to interject compassion into the lives of those who were hurting and in need. And He didn't go about His day, ministry and life demanding and seeking to be understood. He said you can't understand and know Me because you don't understand or know My Father to the religious leaders. And to the disciples and people who did begin to know Him, He said because you know Me, you also know Daddy. No one left an encounter with Jesus feeling like He didn't understand them.
Seeking to understand those we encounter helps to keep us out of self. It helps us to keep the focus on God and those we would help. It helps us to be quick to forgive when we understand that the person who hurt us is spiritually sick, wounded and broken like we were, and somewhat still are, since the result of our new life is not yet fully manifest. It helps us to be compassionate, like Christ was, with the losers and the lost we meet. It helps us to remember that understanding we could never be good enough or measure up, God made a way for us to have relationship with Him. If we can see and understand the needs of others, we can find a way to have relationship with them, which hopefully will lead to them seeing how they too can have relationship with the One we serve and who has set us free.
Lord, today, let us seek to understand those we encounter and how You would have us be of service to them. When it comes to ourselves, let us only seek to understand that we need and can rely on Your power and love to walk unselfishly through this day within Your will and demonstrating Your love. Let us remember that we can not and do not fully understand You or Your ways and yet seek relationship with You, and in like manner, we should seek relationship with others despite never being able to totally understand them or them us. Thank You for understanding us even better than we understand ourselves and loving us anyway.
Peace Prayer Of Saint Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments and or listens to the messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions to more people by sharing the Moments and messages that you read or listen to? Hitting the share button instead of or in addition to the like button will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.
If you would like to have notifications of new Unshackled Moments and messages sent to you via email, send an email to dalynwoodard@mail.com requesting to be added to the list. You can also follow Dalyn Woodard (@Dalynsmsings) on Twitter or Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment