This verse made an impression on me about two years ago. You guessed it, another trial came on the scene and my heart struggled with what to do. The words 'Integrity will guide you' caught my mind. Integrity...let me see... that means honest, trustworthy, real...right? What would Jesus do in a given moment? Effort went out but the problem continued.
A year later, my husband received a gift book in the mail from one of the ministries we support. The book was called 'Integrity by Dr. Henry Cloud'. God came to the rescue as always. I immediately grabbed the book.
"Honey, can I read this first."
"Well I don't know you always mark them up."
"You're right." Then I gave him a puppy dog look. (lack of integrity by the way)
"Here, I can always buy one." He handed it over to me.
"No, let me buy you one, if it is good."
Well, it took me another year but I finished the book last week. What an eye opener. The subtitle said: 'The courage to meet the demands of reality'. When I read the first chapter I thought I'm not mature enough to read this thing. Integrity is more than being honest, trustworthy, or real. It required me to face reality about all of life and then the courage to do what integrity demanded. Here are just a few of the authors thoughts:
- Do the actions of your life leave a good wake behind you once you pass by?
- When you deal with someone do you cover their back door as much as you do your own?
- Do you listen to the other person enough to 'get it' or does your own agenda get in the way?
- Can you step out, take a chance and change to become more effective in life?
When it's all boiled down, the walk of integrity is walking in the spirit and not the flesh in almost every area of your life. No wonder integrity leads us. It's a life where Chris lives His life through us. That requires trust in Him, the One who will complete the work He began in us.
Phil 1:6
No comments:
Post a Comment