I had gone up to the Guest room to do some reading. I enjoy sitting in the cozy off-white chair that sits in the corner of that room. As I sat down, I looked across the room, where one of my attempted Pinterest projects sat on the side table. There sat my brown-colored glass bottle sat. The lights that sat inside were off, and I thought how nice it would be to have them on and create some ambiance in the room.

I got up from my comfortable spot and walked over to flip the switch to turn the lights on. I moved the button, and nothing happened. I did it again, but still nothing. I began thinking those lights were older; and that they probably broke. SO I started thinking about where I could buy some new ones.

Suddenly there was a prodding in my spirit to check the batteries. Maybe it was something internal instead. I went and found a screwdriver to open the battery pack and grabbed some fresh batteries. I went upstairs and took it off. I put the batteries in and tried again. Still nothing, and at that point, I was sure it was the lights. I decided to go buy some more.

Another prodding came, causing me to open up the battery pack again and look at the batteries. Sure enough, I had put one in the wrong way. It wasn’t anything or anyone else, it was me who had made a mistake, and that mistake had kept it from working.

God began speaking to me about this. I was very quick to assume something externally needed to be fixed. The instinct was to blame that instead of checking the internal parts.

Why is that?

Something happens in a relationship, and we assume or blame the other person. We do this often. If something goes wrong in life, we blame God or those around us.

I see this now in our Political, Church, National, and World environments. There is a constant blaming or bashing of the people on “the other side.” There is a yelling, screaming, character-destroying match going on. People’s reputations, lives, and livelihoods are being destroyed because they are to blame, right?!

I believe God calls us to look internally to see what problems may be lingering inside us before we examine the external components.

King David understood this.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24

I want to write this down on a notecard and pray this daily. As we ask God to search us inside and reveal our hearts to us, may we ask Him to forgive where we haven’t forgiven, to help us understand why we feel the way we do, and to give us the attitude of Jesus Christ.

Things may be wrong externally, but if we do not ask God to examine us and show us our stuff first, we won’t deal with what is broken out there very well. Unless we have the attitude of Christ Jesus and the heart of God, we won’t reflect Him well in how we live in the external places.

Do you find yourself doing what I did with my bottle and lights? Do you instinctively start looking for what is wrong externally, or do you allow God to examine you internally first?

I love the way God speaks to me and teaches me so personally and in a way that I can understand with my simple mind. He is good at not letting me keep going in the wrong direction and lovingly redirects me. I am forever grateful for that!

I pray that we will bring our hearts to God daily. May He examine and search us, shining His light in any places of darkness within us so that we may live more fully for Him.