Gut Check

Have you ever been confronted with a truth about yourself that you didn’t see coming?   That’s been the last couple weeks for me.  I had a different perception of myself than was actually true. 

I thought I was doing things right.  I thought I was being supportive.  I thought I was being easy to get along with.  I was also wrong.  Reading in Romans 15 this evening had me immediately convicted of how I have handled some thing not in the best way over the last couple years. 

Everyone experiences grief differently.  I truly didn’t start that process until a year had passed when my son died.  I kept things rolling at home, at work, and started new projects to distract me from the pain I was experiencing.  My wife (I’m writing this without talking to her about it…), on the other hand, lived in the moment and still does.  I failed to support her in a lot of ways in that first year.  I was too focused on myself to realize what her and my younger son truly needed at the time. 

“We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”

Romans 15:1-4 NLT

This passage tells us that we are to give grace and make things easier for those around us who are struggling.  We are not supposed to make them feel bad or condemn them for not being where we are.  I know that passage isn’t directly talking about grief, but that is where my mind went.  The passage talks about how we should act with new believers, which is something I have had some gut checks with here recently as well.

I’m coming to the conclusion that if I have to really think about if I’m doing something right, I’m probably not.  When I’m operating in the ways God intends us to live, things just happen.  It flows naturally.  There is no doubt in what I should be doing.  The doubt comes when I get in my own head and talk myself into doing things my way. 

So getting these gut checks on occasion is a good thing, it keeps us in line on the narrow path.  Next time one comes at you, humble yourself and truly process the meaning of it and then take action to fix it. 

“For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.”

Hebrews 3:14 NLT