“…He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Proverbs 2:7b NIV

In the Midst of Freedom

When we depend upon our God and seek Him daily for wisdom, He will keep us walking in integrity. He will make us aware when we “blow it,” so that we can do our part to confess our wrongful behavior and ask Him for forgiveness. Sin is a part of our being—our make-up—but it is not the same as our heart. When we make the necessary changes in our daily life to correct what we know is wrong, then God covers our errors—He keeps us safe. The more we embrace good desires and make right choices with our heart and mind, the more the bad desires lessen and are not as frequent in our journey in this kingdom life.

God sees things about us that no one else sees. God sees our inner thoughts and desires that go on inside our busy minds. “But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards according to what their actions deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10 NLT).

Have you ever been judged by someone who assumed that your speech or actions told the whole story—but was not true? I have, and the more I tried to prove or explain the how’s and why’s of what the situation looked like or sounded like, the more that particular incident appeared worse. I should have kept quiet at that particular time, as painful as the accusations of the moment were. I have learned to let go and let God take care of it and reveal the “truth.” I have learned how ridiculous it was for me to try to defend myself.

I love that God sees my heart and my motives. He’s looking at more than just my behavior, He is also looking at why I do the things I do. Most of the time, I don’t know why I do the things I do, but God does. I believe He lets us experience our choice and actions in certain situations so that we can examine our intentions and motives as well as who we are in Christ as we grow in Him. He is always in the middle of our circumstances.

When we study the life of Peter in the Bible, we find that he had a problem in judgment, but still his heart was right before God. Peter wanted to do the right thing in every situation he found himself in. This is what God knew about Peter, and this is what God knows about us. He sees inside our hearts and our minds where we are constantly weighing out our options.

Lord, help us to seek Your wisdom in every situation. Thank You that we are always safe in Your hands. Thank You for giving us freedom in the challenges that we face in our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.