Damage Control: Avoiding Distance From God in Hard SeasonsSample

Receive Grace

We want to begin this day by expressing our gratitude for the Holy Spirit. We deeply need Him, and we appreciate that He not only reveals the nature of God to us, but also reveals ourselves to us.

But if we’re being honest, when the Holy Spirit exposes our unhealthy patterns and behaviors, it can feel painful and embarrassing. It’s like realizing you've been walking around with spinach stuck in your teeth - everyone knows it, but you. Yikes!

When the Holy Spirit shows us something about ourselves, we have a choice in how we respond. We can either:

• Resist and refuse to see ourselves accurately
• Fall into a pit of self-pity, focusing more on our shortcomings than on God’s grace
• Accept the correction, repent, and trust God to help us to make the necessary changes

Many of us tend to choose the first or second response. When our friendship was on the brink of collapse and God began showing us our blind spots, traumas, and deeply held beliefs about ourselves and others, we first responded with rejection and then with disappointment. Seeing ourselves more clearly is challenging for a number of reasons but we’ll share two that we experienced. Sometimes we learn that we have unintentionally caused harm to someone. And other times, we are faced with the stark contrast between how we view ourselves and how others experience us. Needless to say it can be an extremely difficult and painful process.

This type of pain can convince us to stay in a place of condemnation, self-pity, and shame. In moments like these, there is a temptation to overly focus on our own sin to the extent that we neglect the power and work of the Cross. As believers, we’re much better off when our response to correction echoes the beauty and power of grace.

John Piper says it like this, "God’s grace not only treats us better than we deserve but his grace is a form of help." The Holy Spirit's correction is an act of grace in and of itself and this grace showers us with undeserved, unearned, and unconditional love. So yes, we’ll continue to fall short in our relationships, say the wrong thing, misunderstand people and be misunderstood. But it is God’s grace that allows us to approach Him in confidence, and His grace that helps us accept His corrections and helps us to eventually change. His grace is truly sufficient.

Reflection: How do you respond when the Holy Spirit corrects you or reveals something you need to change? Why do you think you respond this way?