"Know When to Walk Away...Know When to Run" (July 18,2013)

There's an old song entitled "The Gambler", sung by Kenny Rogers, with lyrics that profoundly apply to more than a hand of poker cards. "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run."

As I've pondered these lyrics I've seen that they apply to just about every situation in life. The wisdom to know when to hold on, when to let go,when to turn on your heel and walk away and when to run as fast as you can, has its source in God only!

Jesus held his tongue and stayed calm in the most dire of situations: "He was submissive and opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth (Isaiah 53:7)." Yet, at other times he spoke up and set people straight: "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? (matt. 3:7)."

As human beings we have learned responses and emotional responses.....but only those that proceed out of the heart of the Father are the right responses. At times our giftings can even get in the way of the right response! For example, having an apostolic anointing requires being able to lay foundations, set doctrine in place and correct sin in the church. If that gift becomes lopsided, one of the ways it can err is to become over-corrective or overbearing. This is but one example of why our responses need to proceed out of the heart of the Father.

While grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Titus 2:12) it is also a safety net for the way in which we handle everyday situations. Erring on the side of grace in any situation is much safer than allowing emotions and strongholds in our thinking to dominate relationships and situations. If we err on the side of grace we will more than likely have an opportunity to correct that error after we have taken it wholeheartedly before the Lord.

Flee immorality, give grace to the sinner, let the Spirit judge your motives!

All to the glory of God!