Believe the Best: No More Reading Between the Lines!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 7:18PM 
Happy Wednesday, Everyone!
And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post whenever I get the chance and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way.
Now, on to my topic...
We all go through seasons in life when we feel especially vulnerable and our insecurities feel close to the surface. During such times it's easy to misread people and situations.
A trusted friend suddenly seems disloyal and distant. A co-worker pulls back and seems to be spending time with someone who doesn't like you. You walk into church and nobody seems interested in talking to you. Your pastor walks right by without noticing you. You no longer feel like you have your boss's favor.
When one or more of these scenarios happens in a short amount of time, it's easy to connect the dots, draw certain conclusions, and then react accordingly. Just recently I talked with someone who had a number of 'dots' out there. He had some legitimate reason for concern, but deep in his soul, he sensed that God was telling him to believe the best about others, not to jump to conclusions, and to continue on with doing the right thing.
His response was exactly right and at the end of the day, the little mishaps fizzled to nothing. Imagine if he would have taken the bait, gotten big and reactionary with his friends and co-workers, and stepped out of the authority and assurance that he had in Christ Jesus.
We may have some real 'dots' out there, just begging to be connected, but that doesn't mean that the picture actually exists or is an accurate one. We need the mind of Christ not to draw wrong conclusions.
From now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view (2 Corinthians 5:16).
I cringe when I think of how many times I assumed people had bad motives when they didn't, or I assumed they we're mad when they weren't. Thankfully, many of those times, I kept my feelings to myself and brought them before God and found my footing once again. Interestingly enough though, I learned that in many of those situations, those people we're enduring their own struggles and would have greatly benefited from an extra dose of grace and love (which comes out of fullness; reactions, on the other hand, come out of emptiness).
We all tend to misread people and situations when something in them resembles a past painful experience for us. We must take responsibility for our actions and reactions, and we must pursue deep inner healing so that our past no longer has the power to diminish our current perspective and relationships.
Remember too, the enemy overplays his hand when it comes to our unhealed areas. He prowls around, just looking for an opportunity to magnify a problem or skew a perspective. His goal is to get our eyes off of God and onto our fears and hang ups. He wants our past to keep speaking to us. He wants our wounds to perpetuate themselves. And he wants us stuck in the prison of an earthbound perspective.
You've probably heard me say this before, or read it in one of my books, but it bears repeating. If the devil can get us to live in reaction to our circumstances rather than in response to God, well, then, he has succeeded at stealing our joy and robbing us of the abundant life to which our souls are heir.
Determine to believe the best in others this week. Even if their motives are off, you stay in the shelter of the Most High God and declare, My salvation and honor depend on God alone. HE is my mighty rock and refuge (Psalm 62:7). Determine too, to believe the best about God. He has your best interest at heart every single day. Even if your circumstances scream something different, refuse to draw a conclusion that disregards God's promises to you.
For the Believer, the only conclusion that matters is the one God has come to regarding us. We are worth everything to Him. We are loved, called, equipped, and chosen. We have everything we need and then some.
Have a blessed week~
Reader Comments (7)
Wow-God is SO good. Thank you for posting this. It was EXACTLY what I needed to hear today. I have been struggling for a few days with a situation that I don't have any facts on. I've been allowing myself to REACT to my circumstances when what I need to be focusing on is RESPONDING to it through God. Thank you so much for this simple, yet powerful reminder! God bless you!!!
Great topic, Susie. I wrestle with this a little, but it is really my husband's thorn to bear. He tends to jump to the conclusion that someone doesn't like him/us based on a look, a gesture, or a period of silence. We must let God take captive our thoughts.
God is using you in a mighty powerful way! Thank you for answering His call. Your blog was meant for me today! And I can't tell you how many times your 'Start a Day' and 'End of Day' blessings on Facebook are just the thing I need to hear at that exact time. God bless you and your ministry!
Susie!
A therapist whom I spent more time seeing than I care to admit right now told me many times when I read something into a situation or reaction by someone or even a lack of reaction by someone that 99.8 % of the time it is not about you, it is about them! She was right about 100% of the time on this one!!! So often someone is in a situation that weighs heavily on them and misses giving a smile or means to answer that message you texted or emailed or even the call you made last week that came up on thier answering machine but never answered back.
A great thing to do is to get back to them and ask if there is something they need a helping hand with or if they need prayer over a situation. Telling them you miss them or thier smile can go a long way in speading the love Jesus asks us to share even if we feel over looked or misunderstood. Thankyou for this I struggled with this just recently and realized again that the reaction I was getting was not about me at all but a whole lot about a sister's struggle in her faith walk and I now keep her daily in my prayer times. It would have been very easy to have snubbed my nose to her and treated her in a cold manner when this was the direct opposite of what she needed. I am so thankful for that bit of advice I got so long ago in a therapists office it has beenso correct so often!!
This really speaks to me. What a blessing it is during this time in my life. Our church is going through a transitional move and everyone is busy. There are changes in staffing and in positions. If we are not careful the enemy of our soul will magnify that we are not worthy and comparisons, condemnation and criticisms will pop up. Thank you for this post. I am bookmarking it to read over again!
Debbie
Susie - This was so so good!! It is early morning and this was so refreshing. I read this and then read it again to my middle school son who has been struggling with anxiety and fear. Your words spoke so powerfully to both of us!! Thank you for such a heavenly perspective!!!
Linked here from FB (Kathy Schwanke's page).
Excellent article. This point is so true: "His response was exactly right and at the end of the day, the little mishaps fizzled to nothing. Imagine if he would have taken the bait, gotten big and reactionary with his friends and co-workers, and stepped out of the authority and assurance that he had in Christ Jesus."
Too often when I think something needs to be cleared up "right now" I react in a defensive mode and increase the heat of the situation. Far better to let things cool and discuss it more dispassionately later.
Good wisdom here. Good blog.