Conviction.....

Ok something I am learning........ I am not always right....... lol....... oh what... you already knew that??? :-)

Seriously though I have been a person who is always very concerned with if I am making "wrong" or "right" decisions. To me there is no middle ground, I am either wrong or I am right, but lately God has been showing me a lot.

You see it used to be that when I was convicted of something I assumed it was for all christians, not just me. I thought that when I felt that something was wrong for me, or right for me, that it should be that way for everyone else, but it just isn't so. Unless something is black and white in scripture sometimes people have different convictions.

For example, I know people who choose to stop having kids, I know others who say that decision is up to God and they have as many as God blesses them with (duggars!). I know some who homeschool but others feel that their kids should be in public school. As I was asking around at my new church about how different people felt about all kinds of issues.... christian vs public school..... having more kids vs stopping.... birth control vs none..... I got the same answer from every single person.... "You need to pray and see where God is leading you and go with what HE tells you to do and how he convicts you"..... it was truly an eye opener. They didn't tell me THEIR opinion, they didn't tell me about the latest article they have read, or the statistics... they simply told me to SEEK GOD.... PRAY.... and OBEY..... WOW!!! At first I was upset.. I mean I wanted them to tell me if what I was thinking was right or wrong... lol... but they gave me the best advice ever... and it really made an impact on me...


God has been laying on my heart to do the same for others..... when others ask me why I am going to do something... why I am making a particular decision... I am going to say "this is what God wants for me right now".... and then simply tell them if they are struggling with a decision of their own to "seek God and then obey".

I must say though, if someone is making a decision that is contrary to scripture and they say "God is telling me to do this"... then they are being deceived. God never goes against his word... EVER... His "will" is never contrary to his "word", but I am learning there are a lot of issues that the bible simply doesn't come out and say "this is right" or "this is wrong". In those moments we need to stop debating... ..stop 'defending' our answers...... and simply pray.... and when we feel God's peace and leading, we obey him.

I still feel that I can share what God is convicting me of... what I am learning and feeling, but I am going to try to not make it to where people feel I am telling them it's my way or the highway..... the truth is it's GOD'S way or the highway....

It's hard not to want to be someone else's Holy Spirit... sometimes we think we know best... but God works in each heart in HIS time.... and maybe I am "right" about certain things..... but my job is to seek God with my whole heart and obey him, and through that he will reveal to me his will... then it's my job to obey. If others come to me... I want to share with them the same great advice I have been given.

Sometimes when we are seeking God.....there are articles.... statistics... and other things that God can use to help us determine his leading..... those things aren't bad. God has gifted some people with the wisdom and experience to help us learn, it's when we use those things to try and convince someone else that "we are right" and "they are wrong"... that it can turn us into trying to become their Holy Spirit....

Right now I am praying through many things..... and I'm going to stop asking other's opinions... and start seeking what God wants me to do..... please pray with me as I do this.