Sensitivity (or lack thereof)

My heart is right,
as the Lord is my witness,
But my methods fall short
of my intended purpose.
I see a need,
my desire is to fix it,
But why haven't I asked
if my help is requested?
I am thankful to the Lord
for His work in mi vida (my life),
That He has grown me,
made me who I am hoy día (today).
Yet this portrait is far,
far from being complete,
And the Great Transformer
is far from finishing this feat.
As I run this race
shedding all that hinders me,
Light my path, O Lord,
and open my eyes to see.
Forgive me for the times
neglect has led the way
And ignorance reigns supreme,
y todavía yo no sé (and I still don't know).
Lord when the time comes...
well... it happens every day,
As I strive to bless,
to You these words I pray:
Reveal to me your methods,
Your wisdom, I want it all,
And at the heart of my heart,
may Your love rule sin igual (without equal).

7.2.09- inspired by God.

The Lord revealed to me this past weekend during a small group meeting at the IV Winter Conference that I am not a very sensitive person. No- I'm not referring to the "talk about my feelings" sensitivity or anything like that, but more the Ephesians 4:29 and Philippians 2:3-4 type.

In Ephesians 4:29, it says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." And finally, Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each one should look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

The Lord has blessed me with a great desire to bless and encourage everyone I meet, but I have been doing this on my own terms and in my own way. What God desires out of me (and everyone) is that we are sensitive to what the people around us need- be it encouragement, help, etc. I may want to give them a gift, but they, in fact, would much rather have a hug or a word of encouragement. And most importantly, sometimes someone may not even want a word of encouragement or blessing from you! This was, to be quite honest, a very helpful but tough-to-swallow truth I learned- that sometimes people might not want that from me! "Love your neighbor as yourself"- the second greatest commandment, according to Jesus (Matt 22:39). There are definitely times when I just need to be alone or would rather someone just listen to me rather than offer a word of encouragement...

So I will seek to reflect Jesus to the people around me by being more sensitive. He was always sensitive to what the people needed, whether it was calling out a woman at the well (John 4) or feeding the multitudes (Luke 9) or some other way. Dear Jesus, may You lead and guide my sensitivity... that I may reflect You to the world and glorify You in every area of my life... Amen.