It’s easy to be caught off guard by someone or a situation. It’s happened to me countless times. To the point I finally realized God was trying to tell me something about my reactions.
Even when we are going through life on our best behavior and trying to handle everything in a way that is pleasing to God, we can’t control what others say or do to us. We can only control our own reactions.
I discovered that when I was caught off guard. I reacted more out of my flesh because I was taken aback by what was said to me. I wasn’t expecting it. After I had more time to digest everything, I discovered my reaction was not what I would have liked for it to be. It was kind of like coming up with a really good come back to a smart remark three days later when it didn’t matter anymore.
The main thing I asked myself when God revealed a bad reaction (of mine) to me was "Why did I do that?" Or "Why did I say that?" Sometimes, my answer would simply be "I don't know."
And God, in all of His wisdom, showed me that my reactions were very revealing. They uncovered a bad place in my heart. An area He saw in me that displeased Him, and I was oblivious until He brought it to my attention. Everything we do flows from our heart . . . especially our reactions to others.
God is making us like Jesus. When He sees an area that needs work, He points it out. I guess I'm a bit slow—and sometimes it takes a few times for me to pick up on the problem. But we should be thankful He loves us enough to correct us and to show us the areas where we can do better.
When you’re caught off guard, depend on God to give you wisdom on how to act.
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What a timely devotional for me to read! Thank you for the reminder to respond in the Lord instead of reacting in our wounded flesh.