Faithful are the wounds of a friend...

If I had to identify my giftedness I would say part of my gift is exhortation and encouragement. I feel so inclined to speak truth into people's lives that I often need to hold back so as not to speak too quickly and without prayer. Sometimes my words have hurt people. My words have often hurt my husband. One of the things about me that makes me so sad is that I too often speak out of anger and frustration then out of love and grace. I want to be faithful to the Lord to use my giftedness and to speak truth into people's lives, but also to be patient and prayerful and wait on the Lord to change people.

A friend and I have been studying 2 Corinthians together and today we met to talk about chapter 7. This is probably the most thorough passage in Scripture that talks about repentance. In 1 Corinthians Paul spends most of the letter rebuking and exhorting the church at Corinth because they were caught in sin. This letter he often points out how much he loves them and how he longs to see their growth in Christ. He knows that he said a lot of things that were hard for them to hear, but he sees now that they have repented and they have REAL fruit of repentance. They are right with God and they can experience the joy of the Lord now!

This was a great reminder to me to stay faithful to speak truth into people's lives even though it's hard and scary and I'm afraid people will hate me. I know that I'm sinful and I know that I can often speak "truth" out of pride and anger, but I want to be faithful to speak truth when my heart is right and their is a genuine need in another person's life for them to hear what God might have to say to them. Chris often reminds me of this Proverb, "Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances." I'm learning to slow down, pray for others and search my own heart before I jump into exhortation.

My memory verse this week is Proverbs 27:5-6. I'm thankful that God wants us to be faithful to speak truth into each other's lives even when they may not want to hear it. I'm thankful that he gives us clear instruction on how to do it. And I'm thankful for the faithful wounds of friends that love me dearly.