“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
Romans 8:5 (NIV
The “ice storm of all time” hit our part of the state where I live a few years ago. Schools were closed, electricity was out for about a week, and everyone scrambled to find ways to heat their homes. Had it not been for so many problems due to the storm, the sheer beauty of ice on the trees would have been breathtaking.
Instead, people found themselves with damage to their yards and trees because of the ice snapping one massive limb after another and forcing each one to plummet toward the ground, leaving deep scars from the impact of the fall. I was not exempt from that damage in my yard.
I had an enormous oak tree on the south side of my home that was my best friend in the summer because of the shade it provided. The branches were huge, the tree majestic. But as I began the process of cleaning up my yard after the storm, I discovered that a very large dead limb at the top of this tree had given in to the weight of the ice and had crashed to the ground, taking with it three healthy limbs.
As I looked at the damage, my mind switched to the “dead limbs” that we all have in our lives. Maybe it’s gossip or jealousy or an anger issue or always having to be right. Whatever they might be, the dead limbs in our lives can do unbelievable damage to our family, our friends, and even to people around us that we might not know well. But they do something else, too. They also damage our relationship with God.
We are very foolish if we think that our wrong choices will have no consequences and that people will not be hurt or relationships ruined. “Yes, I am having an affair,” my friend told me, “but it only affects the two of us. Nobody will get hurt.” My heart broke in pieces. Nobody hurt? What about your husband and children and his wife and the fact that you have destroyed their trust by your actions? One dead branch – an affair – fell, and it took with it several once-healthy branches of spouses and children and trust.
A young man that I had encouraged to take a different path and stop using drugs took me by the arms and said “Listen, I know you care about me. I get it. But just leave me alone and let me do my drugs. Nobody is getting hurt. I’m fine. It’s my life.” And with each police report in the paper with his name in bold type, his family and friends who love him become casualties from the dead branch of drugs.
Our gift from the Lord – the ability to communicate with Him – is broken when we engage in behavior that does not glorify Him or reflect His will for our lives. David knew that. He wrote in Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened . . .” David had found out the hard way that cherishing (taking pleasure in) behavior outside of the will of God results in heartache, a broken relationship with God and consequences. As the dead branch fell – lusting after Bathsheba, a married woman – it ultimately resulted in the death of his son. A healthy branch, a son, taken down by a father’s dead branch choice.
I encourage you this very moment to examine your life for any dead branches that are hiding in your life, threatening to come crashing down and taking healthy branches with them. Any focus outside of the will of God in your life will affect those around you and they will be hurt, or in some cases, even destroyed. And your relationship with God will be hurt as well. When you identify the dead limbs, repent, give them to the Lord and ask Him to help you cut them off as quickly as possible. Then kneel before Him as He removes each branch and pulls you back into His presence.
Lord, forgive me for allowing sin in my life and for thinking that I can do whatever I want without hurting those I love. Please give me strength and courage as I cut off any branches in my life that do not glorify and honor you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
What branches do you have in your life that you have been trying to hide from the Lord?
Think through each branch. What could be the result of holding on to these branches? Loved ones hurt? Relationships destroyed? Is the branch worth the pain it may cause?
Apply
Dig into the Word and ask the Lord to show you those branches in your life that do not glorify Him.
Make a list with the name of each branch and offer them all up to the Lord. Burn the paper as your offering to Him and your desire to reconnect with Him and His will for your life.
Power
Romans 8:5 (NIV) “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”
I Corinthians 10:31(NIV) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
Psalm 66:18 (NIV) “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened . . . “
(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)
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