Can I Predict Someone’s Response?

He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.  Isaiah 33:6

Intimacy means that I will probably have an idea of how someone I’m close to will react to something ahead of time. I’ll know if he will like this or hate that. Or, if he will be angry over one thing and deeply moved by something else. There are no shortcuts to knowing a person that well, either. Time and investment are required.
Ron and I have been married for 47 years. Yesterday, I walked in the kitchen and said, “Let’s talk about next Christmas.” He chuckled and guessed a couple of reasons I might want to bring up the topic. I laughed. He could have easily been right about any of them but this time, he wasn’t. My point is, there is nothing like longevity in a relationship.

Do I know God that well? I should.  Wisdom and knowledge are promised to me.  It’s a kind of spiritual osmosis because Wisdom lives inside of me.  And if I’ve spent enough time hanging out with Him, getting to know what He loves and hates, becoming acquainted with what makes him angry or sad, familiarizing myself with what kind of person He blesses and whom He shuns, I should also be able to predict pretty accurately what He thinks about a certain situation. Not only do I have history to lean on, or the Word to refer to, but I have His Holy Spirit inside of me emitting His feelings. The latter is not talked about enough.

Have you ever felt God’s sadness over someone lost? Have you felt His disappointment at the news of a failed marriage? Have you felt His grief, even anger, when a church has grown cold? I believe that I should pray more, “Lord, let me feel what You feel about this.

After a long life with Jesus, there should be a certain amount of predictability. Time and investment affords that.

Every time I discern Your heart and Your thoughts, stability graces my life. Amen

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