Uncommon Sense | a Study of Proverbs : A 5-Day StudySample
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Day 5: Put Down the Armor
Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.
P R O V E R B S 2 8 : 1 4
Put Down the Armor
All of us have experienced ill-timed and misplaced words. Words that hurt, words that divided, and words that were simply not needed. We have also experienced the brokenness and sin of others; being ignored, being abused, being taken advantage of. We have experienced the absence of love at the cost of intimacy, the absence of generosity at the cost of joy, and the absence of confidentiality at the cost of trust. When we are wounded, we put on protection and armor up. When we armor up, we also harden our heart. We do not want to be hurt again. Unfortunately, our experiences with sinful human beings are projected onto our relationship with God—we assume He will treat us like they did. We assume He will withhold from us like they did. We assume He will also wound us like they did. Consequently, welive with an armored heart. To know the Lord is to know His heart; a heart that longs to make us whole. God’s heart made itself vulnerable, and took on the pain of the world. He understands what is at stake when He asks us to soften our hearts toward Him. He also knows that a hardened heart will only close in on itself, whereas a soft heart will live, grow, and thrive. Out of a whole heart are we able to love. So, how do we put down the armor?
Pay attention
What is your internal response to feedback from others? More than one can apply:
Grateful
Push Away
Lean
Shameful
Humble
Intrigued
Skeptical
Doubtful
Defensive
Curious
Argumentative
What is your internal response to feedback from God? (This can come through Scripture,worship, prayer, etc.) More than one can apply:
Grateful
Push Away
Lean
Shameful
Humble
Intrigued
Skeptical
Doubtful
Defensive
Curious
Argumentative
1. What similarities do you see in your responses to correction? What differences?
2. Which responses indicate a hardness of heart? A softness of heart?
Pray
Spend time in prayer thanking God for the places you have a softness of heart and asking that this softness continue. Take the places of hardness of heart to God and ask Him to:
- heal your heart
- help you grieve and lament the pain that led to this hardness
- assure you of His forgiveness for any sin that has come from your hardness of heart
- help you do your part in any reconciliation that needs to happen
- give you the courage to have a soft and wise heart
- help you trust Him with your heart
- remind you to go to Him when pain and wounding comes.
As you grow in softness of heart and put down the armor.
Our gracious God, You are so tender, good, and loving towards us. You are constantly ready to speak Your gracious truth, show us Your kindness, and remind us of Your mercies. May we be people with soft hearts who are ready to listen, to take in, and to believe Your words to us. Would You workin our wounded hearts miracles we could never imagine? Would You give us courage to step into deeper places of trust with You? Would You empower us to overflow Your love to all those we encounter, whether for a brief moment or lifelong? As we live, remind us of Your wisdom that will never fail to lead us to deeper trust, deeper, joy, and deeper love. We thank You for these gifts of wisdom. Amen.
These five days are an excerpt from Uncommon Sense: A Study of Proverbs. You can keep reading here.
Scripture
About this Plan
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This look into Proverbs helps readers to harness Godly wisdom, not merely for head knowledge, but also for Godly living. What does “living with heart” actually mean? We are going to discover what a life of wisdom and God-honoring obedience actually looks like.
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