As a kid, I loved to play hopscotch. Depending on the day, I could hit all the squares with one foot. Other days, I had to take a minute to set my feet on solid ground before moving forward or jumping to the left or to the right.

As an adult, I find myself playing hopscotch as well. But as an adult, it’s with my emotions and the way I react. We all have a tendency to get angry when we’re offended (yes, this includes me), and stew in the aftermath, which if not kept in check, leads to over-reacting and often unreasonable villainization of the people who said or did what offended us. This not only causes relational problems with that person, but it makes our hearts heavy and steals our peace.

I have learned that, especially when relationships are at stake, the enemy loves to confuse us! He loves to make us unsteady and unstable as our minds move from the left to the right, filling our thoughts with intentions that were never meant to be. And when we are confused, we tend to jump first and steady ourselves later.

James reminds us that we are to strive to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires”. But this takes practice, especially since our reactions are often instantaneous.

So how do we practice this? Begin by asking God for wisdom. When you believe that He is the solid ground on which you stand, your mind will begin to focus on His wisdom before the confusion of the enemy.

Secondly, practice giving people the benefit of the doubt. We always know what our intentions are but tend to judge others on what we think they meant. But when we practice conceding our thoughts of what we think their intentions are and ask God for His wisdom, He will often bring us new insights as to what they could have meant.

And last but not at least, we can search for what is right in that relationship, rather than stewing on what went wrong.

When we intentionally set out to be proactive in our reactions, God will prove to be reactive in us when it’s time for us to act!

So today, before you jump, take a moment to stand and set your feet on solid ground. Balance your mind and your heart with the Wisdom of the Lord, and then you can move forward with confidence, knowing that even when you are caught off balance, you can hit the mark of righteousness, keeping the peace and giving others the same benefit of the doubt as you give yourself.

“My dearest brothers and sisters, take this to heart: Be quick to listen, but slow to speak. And be slow to become angry, for human anger is never a legitimate tool to promote God’s righteous purpose”.

James 1:19-20 TPT

12 words

When we set out to be proactive, God will direct our reactions. 

Dear God, I thank you for your wisdom! I ask that you instill a desire in me to let go of the way I react and focus on the generous grace that you offer not only to me, but also to those I interact with on a daily basis. God, I want to be a vessel who promotes your righteous purposes, so help me to practice restraint of my mouth and redirection of my anger. May your mercy and peace be found in abundance by me and through me! Amen.