“Rejoice the soul of your servant, O Lord, for to you do I lift up my soul, for you are good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy to all who call upon you.” Psalm 86:4,5 KJV

When I pray for things, I usually have a pretty clear idea of how I want God to answer my prayer. Although God often has the same goal in mind, He usually has a much better idea of how to reach it—and rarely does His idea line up exactly with mine!

In my own life I’ve been asking God to give me growth; His answer has been to reveal sin. For instance, when I recently read an article praising the ministry of a worker I know, I was dismayed that my first reaction was a powerful surge of jealousy.!

That was certainly my natural self: competing, seeking significance in success, and finding security in being better than others. God brought me back to the Truth of the sinfulness of my old nature and to the very mixed motives I have. He was  giving opportunity to repent of and reject my wrong motives—those which are negative and neutral—and affirm my positive motives.

Through this, God refocused me on the need to constantly be transparent before Him so He can help me deal with the negative motives before they become action! And I can be secure in Him even when He’s pointing out sin in my life: Lord,  “..you are good and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy to all who call upon you.” Psalm 86:4,5 KJV May the revelations continue that I may give you more honor by confessing and receiving forgiveness. May I be a reflection of your character, like the tree in this picture.