Have You Ever Put Yourself In Time-Out?
Hungry - Day 8
I passed from the hall to the kitchen when a little blond ponytail caught my eye. It was my daughter, Bailey, who at the time was only about three-years-old. She was standing with her face against the "time out wall," all by herself.
"Bailey, honey, what are you doing standing against the wall?"
She dropped her little head and, with quivering lips, she whimpered, "I wath naudy."
Wouldn't life be amazing if we each put ourselves in time-out when we were naughty, without being caught, and without being told? I don't remember what her infraction could have possibly been; most likely nothing I would have disciplined her over, but whatever it was she knew that her heart had not been right about it.
I thought of this story because this journey is about self-discovery. It's about having a heart that is so sensitive to the things of God that we judge ourselves and humbly bring every area of our lives before him. It's about standing against the proverbial "time out wall" and asking God to love us exactly the way we are, but not leave us this way. It's about learning who He really is and what He really came to do for us. It's about knowing him deep in our heart, without reservation. It's about pure, life-changing repentance, the kind that breaks us and rips away disobedience, not out of condemnation, but because all we desire is Jesus.
Challenge: Is there anything in your life that is keeping you from all that God has for you? If yes, talk to the Lord about it. I assure you he already understands more about what's going on then you do... and he has the answers you need.
- Deanna
Taken From "Love Personified" by Deanna Rhinehart
