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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Repeated Mistakes

Every year about this time, the dead flowers are removed from this flower bed at an office building near me, leaving a wide brown swath of dirt for a few days. Then some fall flowers are planted to replace the ones that don’t thrive in this spot where hey get full sun.
This year, they did add the elephant ear, which have done pretty well. But for some reason, each spring the flowers of choice are ones that really would prefer a shadier location.
Do you ever repeat the same old mistakes, year after year, month after month, even day after day? I know I do.
Sometimes I plead ignorance—I just don’t realize that what I’m doing is dumb, or wrong, or hurtful to someone I love. Other times, I know that my actions are not pleasing to God, but I choose to continue because I’m weak. Or just because, deep down, I don’t want to change.
But the good news is that God can help us avoid making the same mistakes over and over again, if we ask. King David wrote in Psalm 19: 12-13, “Who can notice every mistake? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep me from sinning. Do not let anyone gain control over me. Then I will be blameless, and I will be free from any great offense” (GWT).
Not only will He keep us from sinning, but He will forgive even those offenses that no one else knows about. And once He forgives, we become sin-free in God’s eyes.
Instead of planting the same flowers in the wrong place, I’m going to ask God to help me plant beautiful flowers in the right places—in the lives of others. I trust Him to change my heart so that I want to make the effort to control my tongue, my mind, and my heart.
What repeated mistake will you ask Him to help you with today?