Conviction/Condemnation
I've been up for hours (I'm not sure I got sleep last night....maybe I've been sitting here holding Stacia all night LOL).
Anyway - I'd like to spend some time and write this pretty but I've been thinking about it over a week and I simply need to say it.
This is a tricky issue, one that concerns me when I begin to share things such as "Parenting in Proverbs".
Condemnation is bad. Conviction is good. Unfortunately, there is confusion today about the two. Some feel that conviction is condemnation. Anything that makes me feel uncomfortable must be condemnation and not sanctioned by God. I maintain that that is not the case. I see lots of examples in the Word where folks were "uncomfortable", submitted to God's work in their lives, and were transformed mightily.
I think in a nutshell I'd say condemnation will attack your character. It leads to self pity and hardly ever to true change.
Conviction is uncomfortable but also, deep down feels "good". It's an "ah" moment....usually conviction is a missing puzzle piece for me. I've KNOWN that something wasn't quite right, I read or hear something that makes me think, "I'm off the mark here". The next feeling may well be discomfort. If I follow that road and allow myself to begin to think SELF I often will land in the condemnation camp. The thing to do with conviction is go to God in prayer. Confess (agree with God, say the same thing about your actions that God does), repent (go in a new direction), accept forgiveness and ask for help to change. After that first discomfort of realizing I've missed the mark, my next feeling IS often one of "Ouch - but this is so good for me".
Please, do not wallow in self-condemnation. If the Holy Spirit convicts you as we read Proverbs - take it to God. Confess your shortcomings (He's already aware of them), make a prayerful plan to move on - ever closer to His ideal. Remember and thank Him for his AMAZING grace and His mercies that are new every morning. Begin to pray earnestly for Him to show you how to redeem the time and mistakes you may have made.
I have personally found reading through Proverbs and seeing how it would apply to my raising of children convicting....but it's a GREAT discomfort.
I would agree that condemnation is not of God. I would humbly suggest that some of us, however, have labeled the convicting work of the Holy Spirit as condemnation and therefore have avoided the transformation work that God is wanting to accomplish in our lives.
One other thought. I've often seen a friend share the things that are convicting her with another, and seen the first one try to talk the friend out of that feeling....that conviction. Let's be very careful NOT to talk one another out of spots of discomfort where God may be working....let's instead encourage friends to move from self-focused condemnation to God focused transformation. If you find that you share with a friend some failings or conviction and she tries to make you feel better about yourself...and when you pray you STILL feel convicted...I suggest you simply confess, repent and accept forgiveness...then prayerfull ask God to help you formulate a plan for change. Friends won't always understand the work that God is doing in our hearts.
Does that only muddy the waters????
1 comment:
No De,
It does not muddy the waters. I think the more the Lord works on and conforms me the more I recognize His voice and His convicting work in my life. Just this week the Lord convicted me of something I had been guilty of and the weight of it nearly crushed me. But during the work of His hand I had a joy and peace in the understanding that He was refining me. Kinda like "It hurts so good".
I also must agree with you that friends in their attempt to help us through can sometimes sabotage the work of the Holy Spirit by trying to make us feel better. We need to watch for this in ourselves as we try to help others and to be aware as others try to help us.
I have not had time to go through your Proverbs posts but I think this is good as I want to let the Lord speak to me as I go through them and then read your posts and see what the Lord leads me to.
Thank you for sharing all your thoughts here. They do give me thinks to ponder.
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