Mark 2:8 And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

Jesus knew what was on people’s hearts. We are being conformed to the image of Christ, so therefor are we not also to perceive what is on the hearts of our fellow man?

Proverbs 26:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

We are a perceptive people. We observe. We read. We judge. We even have the ability to read body language intuitively. Perception however is a sensory condition and does not and cannot be depended upon when it comes to the condition of the heart. Why?

Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Because we do not even know our own heart, how can we be sure of the heart of another? Our perception of what is going on in others is based first in a connection to our understanding of our own heart. I can see what others do and I know how I felt when I acted that way. It is a vain thing to assume that same actions are based in same heart conditions. You may perceive that something is wrong but do not assume you know the cause.

What I have discovered over the years, in making many mistakes myself, is that the most difficult cause to realize is something I did to elicit a negative response. “What me? What did I do?”

It is always easier to look and say they have a problem than it is to recognize what part in it we play. I am innocent in my heart! Yes, but do they know that? My perceptions of any moment belong to me and will not match perfectly what is happening in the heart of those around me.

That is why Jesus said judge not.

Psalm 37:7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

I have been praying for a Godly thing. I know it is right because God placed me in a position of responsibility, stewardship in this matter. I pray and I pray and still I do not see my prayers answered. I believe I am being patient yet I fret.

I do not fret over others getting their way. In this, my request, there is none to compare. Those that have gained by wicked devices of my enemy do not concern me. They are not party to my concerns.

If I have to be brutally honest with myself here, it is my failure to rest in the Lord. I have not for all practical purposes laid it at the feet of my Lord. That takes sacrifice and I am so concerned for another, having great love and sincere hope, that I have found it difficult, if not impossible, to rest in the Lord.

We talk a good game. We believe. We trust. We hope in right promises. We wait patiently, or least tell ourselves we are patient, but do our actions and attitudes look anything like rest? Probably not. It is after all within our nature, as stewards, to want to do something about these situations we are so passionately commit to obey. Is resting even an option?

Considering I am unable to make these things happen, then I have no choice but to wait on He who can. My sleepless nights tell me I am not at rest. I find myself once again in that helpless position of having to ask the Lord, “Help me do that thing I cannot do for myself. Teach me Your Way and hold me up in it.”