I told you in my last post that I had something to share and I've got a little time this morning so I thought I would get on here and talk to ya for a few minutes.
It has been an on going problem for me - being thin skinned. I can't take being talked down to, having someone be hateful to me, being criticized in a negative way (constructive criticism is OK, as long as it's done in love), or just someone being rude or mean to me. When someone is mean to me, Oh it breaks my heart. I will cry and cry over it. Especially when that someone is an extended family member or my immediate family. I've been told that I'm thin-skinned, although I never considered myself so. I've never been sure why I turned out this way; I always thought it was a direct result of my up-bringing. I do not want to be disrespectful or dishonoring to my parents, so I won't elaborate on that. But, this is the way that I am.
This particular 'issue' had been coming up more and more often lately. So, I began to earnestly seek God over it. I wasn't sure how to pray about; I just began to ask God to help me with it. I began to take it before the Throne of Grace and I told God that I didn't really know what to do about it or what His perfect will was concerning this for me. I took this matter of being
'thin-skinned' to my heavenly Father again and again without receiving any special instructions or revelation, either from the scriptures or my husband (these are the two places I look to first for answers or to discern the will of God for my life). Then one day, out of no where, I felt that God spoke to my heart about this matter. I wasn't praying, studying the scriptures, listening to praise and worship music, or anything particularly 'spiritual.' I was up in my bedroom looking for a book that I had misplaced and had this topic of being thin-skinned on my mind when I felt so strongly the Spirit of the Lord. I felt that the Lord spoke to my heart, "Charlotte, you're not thin-skinned; others are hard-hearted. You are tender-hearted as a direct result from being protected from the world. But, others, that are mean and hurtful, are hard-hearted because of their constant exposure to it. And they have knowingly built up a thick skin on their hearts to endure the constant onslaught of an evil, godless world." Wow! What a relief; because I was beginning to think of myself as a weany. I was beginning to think that if I was to ever continue in ministry that I'd better 'toughin-up.' Oh, how I thank God for His ministry of the Holy Spirit to me that day.
You know, my younger boy is a bit thin-skinned. He's only 10, but because of his christian up-bring, he too has been protected from the world. He knows that Christ, for our family, is our life; and because his parents are called into ministry, he is too and there are great responsibilities with that. He has learned to prefer others over himself (especially his older handicapped brother); he has learned to forgive; he is (like all of us) learning to make decisions for himself as to whether his actions are pleasing to the Lord and producing the fruits of righteousness in his life; and he is learning to stay sensitive to the Holy Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to prick his heart when his actions and attitudes are unbiblical. All of this is making him thin-skinned. I was told that this is not a character trait that I would want my son to have, especially as he grows into manhood. But, I disagree; because there was something else that the Lord spoke to my heart that day - He said, "It's someone who is thin-skinned that is tender-hearted; and it's a tender-hearted person that hears My voice and follows Me." Caleb has already told me that he has heard the voice of the Lord in His heart and that when he is around the lost he has the unction of the Holy Spirit to witness to them (and he does from time to time, but he's still a little shy about it). How precious is that - a 10 year old boy asking someone "Do you know Jesus" or "Are you a Christian." There are many adult Christians that have been saved a long time that don't witness to a soul. But, my 'tender-hearted' 10 year old boy will witness for his Savior. I've told Caleb, "Don't ever change. Don't let the world beat a hard path across your heart. Don't let the hardships of life make you hard-hearted."
One of the character traits that a Christian is suppose to possess is compassion and humility. There is no way you can be compassionate and humble, and hard-hearted at the same time. They're like oil and water, they just don't mix. If for whatever reason you have become hard-hearted, if life has beat you up a bit, and people have treated you bad; remember Jesus didn't do that to you, nor will He ever. Use the hardships of life for something positive; like using that bad experience to minister to someone else that is going through the same thing. It's the only way I know to kick some dust in the devil's face and do some damage to his dark kingdom.
I know these are old cliches, but so appropriate: 'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade;' 'When life hands you scrapes, make a quilt;' 'When life is a mess, let God turn it around and give you a message.' And when you stay tender-hearted through it all, you will look like Jesus and be His compassionate heart to someone else who is hurting.
In His Word and at His Work,
Your Kingdom Seekin' Mama,
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