The Eggshell Dance

Walking on eggshells was not for me. I’d had years of childhood training and was far more advanced than that. I performed perfectly choreographed dance routines on eggshells.

My performances were spectacular.  He would walk in the room and I would sense his mood.  For a bad mood, I immediately went into my well-honed fix-it routine.   I’d get into character, playing one who was empowered to manipulate emotions.  I just knew it was a beautiful thing to behold.

I was asking God for wisdom one day and He told me to stop walking on eggshells.  I thought of how my lovely eggshell dancing promoted peace in the house.  Surely I had misunderstood God because Jesus even said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” 

Again God told me to stop walking on eggshells because it was an unhealthy way to relate to someone.  I was befuddled.  ”Lord, if that’s unhealthy, you’re going to have to show me what healthy looks like.”

He said, “Relate to people like I relate to you.  Do I walk on eggshells around you?”

I imagined myself walking toward God’s throne.  God turns to Jesus and the angels saying nervously, “Oh dear, here comes Leah, I wonder what kind of mood she’s in today…”

Oh dear.

The eggshell dancing lifestyle was deeply rooted in my psyche.  Was I supposed to let him come home in a bad mood and not even try to fix it?  It felt unloving, like I didn’t care.  My thinking had to change.  I began to see the pride and disrespect in attempting to manipulate someone's emotions.  I saw that I wasn't created to carry the burden of another person’s happiness.  Love has greater freedom than that.  

As a matter of fact, I feel so free...I feel like dancing!

I love this life!

You love me! You really love me!

I was reading through 1 Corinthians 13 (known as the love chapter) and the middle of verse 7 arrested my attention:

  

Love “is ever ready to believe the best of every person”.  (Amplified Bible)

I asked, “Lord, what is the best I can believe of every person?”  Immediately, the Lord responded, “The best you can believe of people is that they love you like I do.”

Wow!  I recorded His response in my journal and asked the Holy Spirit to remind me to practice believing the best of people.

That evening I went to a meeting believing the people there unconditionally loved me like God does. The first thing I noticed was a change in my confidence. I felt my posture straighten and my eyes sparkle. As the evening continued, I noticed that I had become the loving person. Having the mindset that each person there loved me empowered me. The love of God that has been shed abroad in my heart (Rom. 5:5) was pouring out of me toward them through grace.

 

Of course the best I can think of someone is that he or she loves like God loves.  Rather than have a long mental list of the best I can think of another (this person has wisdom, strength, beauty, kindness, faithfulness, etc.),  to think someone loves like God loves, includes far above and beyond any list of positive attributes I could conceive. And thinking so, elevates me to where I pour out God’s love.  Brilliant!

I love this life!

Who's your witness?

My pastor mentioned that the Holy Spirit would bear witness to the Word of God sown in our hearts.  I imagined the Holy Spirit's witness to those Word-seeds infusing them with life and roots springing forth.  His witness freed my heart to accept the Word as truth.


I began to wonder what witness I had trusted regarding other things that had taken root in my heart.  Was the witness culture?  Upbringing?  Fears?  For example, for many years I had a poverty mentality.  My childhood said that I would be poorly provided for and I must worry and work to care for myself. That seed grew large and ruled my thinking for decades.  Looking back, I see it was a lie, as I have never lacked any good thing.  However, I still tended to see lack where there was none.


The Holy Spirit would never bear witness to poverty in my life.  He would bear witness to such promises as Philippians 4:19 (KJV), "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 


Matthew 18:16b (Amplified version) reads, "...every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses."  My prayers now include, "Holy Spirit, please point out my thoughts to which You cannot bear witness!" 

I see myself walking into a greater manifestation of God's freedom with each change of thought.


I love this life!

Truth Prevails

"who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed."  (1 Peter 2:24 NKJV)  

“Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it."  (Jer. 1:12  AMP)

 

I was exhausted from coughing and was having a hard time breathing.  I said (with the tone), "God, You said that by Jesus' stripes I'm healed, so I expect You to watch over Your Word to perform it!" 

Oh my...had I implied that if I didn't stop coughing, God's Word isn't true? 
 

That's messed up thinking.  God cannot lie.
 

 “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”  (Numbers 23:19  NKJV)
 

“This is the life God promised long ago—and he doesn’t break promises!”  (Titus 1:2  MSG)
 

Thinking on truth gave me energy for the rest of my day.  Anytime I coughed I reminded it that God's truth prevails. Soon, the coughing ceased.
 

I love this life.

Copyright 2012  Leah Lambert Smith

I lack no good thing

Psalm 34:10 (NKJV) reads, ”The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.”

Those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. I pondered these words, wanting evidence of their truth after my friend’s death.  I heard God’s voice disclose that though I may be missing the unique expression of His love shown through my friend, I didn’t lack any love. 

I had wanted to be permanent that which is, by nature, fleeting. The fleeting nature of our earthly life used to be understood.  It doesn’t devalue this life to see it so, but makes it more precious.

Psalm 103:15-17a reminds me,

“As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him.”

 

God reminded me what is permanent and He set hope before me. 

If the thought comes now that I lack something, anything, I remind myself that I truly lack no good thing. I remember that as I seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things shall be added to me (Matt. 6:33). I am blessed.

I love this life.

Copyright 2012  Leah Lambert Smith

Need

The Need Theory of motivation states that: 

NEED results in  
DRIVE resulting in 
ACTIONS resulting in 
SATISFACTION

What motivates me when I know that all my needs are met in Christ Jesus - when I'm fully satisfied in Him?

I'm motivated to enjoy relationship with my heavenly Father today.  I'm motivated to experience the abundance of His love.


I love this life!

Copyright 2011

Leah Lambert Smith

Condemnation

Romans 8:1   There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

I used to be proud of my critical thinking abilities.  Then one day it dawned on me that my critical thinking extended to being critical of others and especially of myself.  Argh.  

Being my own worst critic was paralyzing.  When I would berate myself, my biggest loss was the encouraging voice of one who should always be my champion - me!  As the apostle Paul so beautifully points out in Romans 8:31, if God is not condemning me, how dare anyone else (including me).

My Savior so lovingly bore into death everything about me that was worthy of condemnation.  I am free from condemnation now!  Do I heap condemnation upon myself because I doubt that Jesus did a thorough job of freeing me?  Do I think He needs to go back and try death and resurrection again?  Maybe get it right this time?  

Of course not!

I am being changed from glory to glory by the Holy Spirit.  I am learning to be patient with myself when my faults loom large because that which is not of God is being done away with.

I love this life.