Knee Jerk Reactions

I'm sure you've seen or had the doctor check your reflexes and hit you in the knee to see how you'd respond. This practice birthed the phrase we use today of a "knee jerk" reaction or response. The Farlex dictionary defines this as...

" immediate unthinking emotional reaction produced by an event or statement to which the reacting person is highly sensitive..." These "knee jerk" reactions cause us to be a real JERK to others! This parallels the wisdom from Proverbs 12:18...

Proverbs 12:18 Rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.(NRS) 


Today I faced a challenging situation, and I heard the Lord say to my heart, "Don't have a knee jerk reaction." I knew what He meant. Don't respond from my IMMEDIATE emotion, but seek God for the truth. Many times there's more mess to clean up from HOW we react to a situation than the situation itself. If we restrain our first impulse, and pray--His peace will come and instruct us how to wisely walk out His will for the circumstance. We can start to see how He works all things for good if we aren't too occupied with expressing the bad! 


I'm praying today to have the mind of Christ when the enemy hits us "below the belt." May we respond with God's answer and not our first RASH emotional eruption. Let our words sow seeds of healing, not the turmoil of a rash and fleeting emotion. There will be much less carnage to remove if we will.