Do we have to do self-reflection? Don’t we get to bury our sins deep down? This devotion looks at how that circumspection not only strengthens our relationships with God, but also how it helps our consistency and self-control.
Nuggets
- It is only when we stop and take a good look at things, make all the connections, and evaluate our actions and opinions against what God says in His Word do we get an accurate picture of where we are in our spiritual walk.
- We learn so much through experiences, but it isn’t until the reflection piece where we apply what we have experienced and learned.
- God puts so much store in us that He sent His Son to live in us.
- Reflection is thinking about it – stopping long enough to really take stock.
Devotions in the Consistency Needed for Spiritual Growth series
How Does Circumspection Help Consistency?
Self-evaluation. Self-reflection. Self-examination.
Figuring out why we did what we did. Figuring out what we should have done.
I bet Satan doesn’t want us to do that. He wants us to think that whatever we feel like doing in the moment is perfectly fine with no consequences.
There is a problem with that. We are prone to sin — yes, even disciples. “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions” (Gal. 5: 17 NLT).
Even after conversion, we have a sinful nature. We will until we are changed (I Cor. 15: 52).
God wants us to pay attention to what is happening in and around us. He wants us to focus on Him and His ways. Let’s look into circumspection.
Let's Put It into Context
Diligence talks about being persistent. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines diligence as being a “steady, earnest, and energetic effort.”
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, circumspect means “careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences.” I’ve said several times that I believe God wants us to make a conscious, informed decision of whether we are going to submit to Him or not. This continues after conversion as we use past experiences to inform future decisions.
The modern word is reflection. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines that as “a thought, idea, or opinion formed or a remark made as a result of meditation.”
I am going to use the words interchangeably.
Benefits of Reflection
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (II Cor. 13: 5 ESV)
Circumspection is important. When we are barreling through life, sometimes it is hard to see everything situations are supposed to teach us.
It is only when we stop and take a good look at things, make all the connections, and evaluate our actions and opinions against what God says in His Word do we get an accurate picture of where we are in our spiritual walk.
If we stop and think, maybe we can get to where we see how God sees us. Then we can work on seeing ourselves that way.
Tillotson reminded us that, when we do the survey of our lives, we should focus on the good and the bad. He called it thinking on our ways. Remember, Daille defined the way of man as “… the fashion and method of life which each man follows.” Walking is used “… to signify a regulating and framing of the life after some certain manner, whether good or evil …” We would say this was how we lived our lives.
Hewlett reminded us that it is in the trials — not the smooth sailing — where “… the mind improves in wisdom or in virtue …” It is then that we see things as they really are.
Remembering Experiences
“You have made your people see hard things; you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger” (Ps. 60: 3 ESV)
Hewlett wrote, “The great source of all human knowledge is experience and that experience which teaches us practical wisdom, and informs us of the many evils that constantly wait on life, is acquired chiefly by observation and reflection.” We have to pay attention to what is happening to us and make all of the connections.
We learn so much through experiences, but it isn’t until the reflection piece where we apply what we have experienced and learned. We make plans based on the adjustments those experiences caused.
The reflection helps us retain things better. (Why do you think teachers love reflection assignments so much?)
No, not all of our experiences are rainbows and unicorns. Beecher cautioned us that we shouldn’t wallow in our cares and sorrows. Instead, we should use our experiences to grow in grace and knowledge (II Pet. 3: 18).
What happens to our cares? “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (I Pet. 5: 7 NLT).
Soul Searching
“He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake” (Ps. 23: 3 ESV)
What we are really shooting for is soul searching to get to soul keeping. The soul keeping is something I got from a sermon from The Weekly Pulpit.
The sermon reminded us that we are living, breathing people. But we are more than that.
“You have been set apart as holy to the LORD your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure” (Deut. 14: 2 NLT).
We are God’s treasure.
And there is more.
“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (II Cor. 4: 7 NLT).
God puts so much store in us that He sent His Son to live in us.
We need to keep consistent in God’s laws and commandments so we can be an appropriate dwelling place for Jesus. We do that by soul keeping.
God has entrusted not only these jars of clay but also souls. The soul is, according to the Holman Bible Dictionary, “the vital existence of a human being.”
We are keeping something very valuable. Isn’t it logical that God would want us to do spot checks periodically to make sure everything is in tip top shape?
Reflection Is Thinking
“I thought about my ways and turned my steps back to your decrees” (Ps. 119: 59 CSB)
I love those first two words. “I thought …” (Ps. 119: 59 CSB). That is what reflection is — thinking about it. Stopping long enough to really take stock.
Part of the problem is, though, when we think about it, we see God as righteous and holy — and we aren’t. I am not going to be while I am here on this earth.
But look at all these verses.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5: 8 ESV).
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2: 20 ESV).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Cor. 5: 21 ESV).
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (II Cor. 5: 17 ESV).
I could go on, but we get the picture.
We come up with all these I-didn’t-do-the-do’s-and-I-did-the-don’ts. The only reason God wants us to come up with those is to address them and cut the sin out.
God isn’t going to turn His back on us.
Making the Connections
We should evaluate ourselves based on God’s standards. The results of circumspection should be our living more in line with how God calls us to live. It should be a more consistent walk with Him.
Bellett wrote, “If we are accountable to Him for our doings, it would be but reasonable now to sit in judgment on ourselves.”
Isn’t that what we should do? Shouldn’t we seek to identify the sin in our lives so that we can get rid of it?
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
Look what Thompson said. He wrote, “But in order to gain self-control we must study ourselves, especially as to our weak points of character, and aim to conquer specific modes or habits of evil to which we are prone.” Reflection is part of the process of self-discipline.
Tillotson also made an interesting observation. God is patient with us — He is longsuffering. What is He patient about? Our sanctification process.
God takes His time to test and realign us with His standards. He takes His time making us holy — our lifetime.
How Do We Apply This?
Hewlett gave us a good plan.
- Take time to reflect on our disappointments.
- Reflect on our sorrows.
Yes, think about the things we don’t want to think about. It may be something in the past, or it may be something in the present.
I am sure that, if we reflect so we can grow closer to God, He is going to meet us there. That is exactly what He wants — us sanctified, holy, and righteous.
Father. Too many times, we want to bury our sins. We don’t want to look at our faults and weaknesses. Help us to take an honest look at the sin in our lives. Forgive us of our sins. Help us to cut it out of our lives so that we are more like you. Amen.
What do you think?
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