Philippians 4:9
“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
What impression are you leaving for people around you? When you are not around, what do they say about you? If they were called upon to write a character sketch of your life what would they say? Pause and think about it.
When I was a County Juvenile Probation Officer, I was often confronted with very unique situations. One really sticks in my mind. I once received a letter from the Superintendant of the state Correction Center for Juveniles. He said that in the next few days one of their former inmates would be stopping by my office.
This was not unusual, but the way he described the young man was. He had been so incorrigible that they had sent him to the State Mental Hospital. The staff there was unable to deal with his behavior so they sent him back. Now I was getting him. The Superintendent suggested that I notify the local law enforcement agencies so they could be prepared to arrest him when he offended, and then keep him locked up for as long as possible! End of letter!
I was just finishing the letter when there was a knock on my door. A young man entered ― he was the one I had just been reading about. I asked him to sit down and prayed for wisdom about what to say.
I asked him what he felt people thought of him. It took some prying, but he finally was able to say that he felt people thought he was a good person. I told him that he was about to see what people really thought of him, and placed the letter from the Superintendent in front of him.
As he read, the color drained from his face. He looked across the desk at me and said he had no idea that he was that bad. (For as long as I continued in my position he was never in trouble again).
The thought goes through my mind from time to time about what people think about me. Do they perceive my good intentions or are they more often than not aware of my faults?
There is an even more pertinent question: What does God think about me? We know in reading the book of Job that God was well aware of Job’s behavior and even bragged about him to Satan. What do you think God would say about us?
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com