Sincerity

Have you ever apologized to someone just to try and clear the air or to make yourself feel like a better person? I know that people do it everyday because they feel obligated to say something to someone they feel they have wronged. It is humbling to come out and say you were wrong or that you hurt someone because your intentions were wrong. The truth is that sincerity is the only way to make things right and it is more than just the act of sounding sincere, it is showing that a change has taken place to ensure that the same scenario will not unfold in the future. If you apologize a thousand times and never are sincere about it, you are making the situation worse. Trust begins to break and over time a relationship can fall apart. I have experienced this first hand and it is a tough pill to swallow every night. What is done is done and the only way to progress is to step up and change how you handle things in the future. You cannot expect different results when the cycle is the same every time around. When you do the laundry, the only way to get a stain out is to work it out with some cleaner and maybe use a double wash cycle, you have to be careful not to dry the fabric before the stain is removed because then the stain might bond with the fabric and the reminder is left every time you put it on. When one realizes that they only way they can help themselves is by letting Him help you, then they have reached a point that could never be reached no matter how many times they talked to someone who could help them. Anyone can point you in the right direction but until you move in the right direction, they are of no value to you at all. Ultimately we control our destiny and if you make amends and are sincere, you will go further than you could have ever imagined.

Israel had tons of trouble in the Old Testament and God knew just how much they were playing with him. He tried over and over to provide them with what they needed but he ended up getting the same result from them. They would complain and turn away and then in the heat of the battle they would turn to him. Hosea 7:13-16 states, "Woe to them because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me. They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds. They gather together for grain and new wine but turn away from me. I trained them and strengthened them, but they plot evil against me. They do not turn to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword because of their insolent words. For this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt." When people do not know which side of you they are going to get, you become foreign to them and dealing with something unknown pushes a lot of people away. Other people just get sick of the same stuff over and over because they know that you are doing just enough to get by. This may work with most of your friends but God knows what is going on and if you do not straighten up and start pursuing your relationship with him and allowing him to speak into you, then you are headed for a dark path, myself included. If I have to tell myself to not force it one more time then I might lose it because I always find myself pushing the situation and then I feel left out in the dark when it is all said and done. God's plan should be all that I need but I cannot take ahold of it when I'm in a constant struggle to just be within reach of him. The war is raging, the clock is ticking and sooner or later someone wins. You cannot wait for the clock to reach zero to decide because at that point it is too late. One side is winning and there are no ties so whoever is ahead at the end is going to take possession of the most sought after prize in the universe, your eternity.

Sincerity is tough and repentance is a daily battle to overcome the sin in which you once lived. Walk everyday with him and he will give you the strength you need. Be grateful for what you have, thank him for what you receive, and never lose sight of what is in store. He is always watching not because he wants to catch you but because he loves you and wants to help you.

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson