A critical spirit. A couple months ago, a couple of friends wanted me to read an article. While it was very good, I honed in on the comments about women who have critical spirits. This got me thinking….do I have a critical spirit? I knew that Scripture talked clearly about the damage a critical spirit can cause. That night I sought the Lord and asked Him to search my heart. Realizing that I didn’t have a critical spirit was a relief, but I took it a step further and asked what spirit I did have. After a few minutes, I realized that I had a spirit of crankiness.
I became aware of how cranky my heart was and how it was bleeding into other parts of my life. While most people around me might not have noticed my crankiness, I was suddenly aware of the depth of its roots in my life.
Everything was frustrating me. I internally fumed and whined at everything that didn’t go my way. I effectively was doing a toddler tantrum on the inside. I was sapping my energy and exhausting myself. I wasn’t living in any kind of joy or peace. I wasn’t aware that I was actively choosing to live that way until the Lord revealed this spirit.
So now what was I to do? I didn’t want to live this way anymore. How was I supposed to stop something I didn’t realize I was even doing? I prayed. I wanted the Lord to reveal what might be at the root of my cranky spirit. I started looking up definitions and Scriptures. I found that the opposite of cranky is cheerful. Merriam Webster defines cheer this way:
Cheer: state of mind or heart; a shout of applause or encouragement
I realized that I wanted a joyful heart and a spirit of cheerful encouragement.
Today, the Scripture verse from Ezekiel 36:26-27 came to mind.
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from you flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules.”
This verse makes so much more sense to me now! How grateful I am that the Lord is changing my heart of stone (crankiness) into a heart of flesh (cheerfulness) for Him!
The picture above is a sunset I took on vacation last week. It’s a representation of the beauty and peace I now have. I still am taking everything day-by-day, but I have the energy and joy to see Him around me and to enjoy the moments He’s given me.
Praying Ezekiel 36:26-27 over you and that He will be glorified in your heart of flesh!
Adventures of a Single Pretzel 