Red Flags: A 10 Day Devotional On RelationshipsSample

Day 10: Red Flags in Me #3

Our family experienced a horrible house fire when I was young. It was truly a miracle we all made it out in time. We still praise God today for His deliverance and protection! The moment my dad saw smoke, he yelled to our family to get out of the house! He didn’t wait till he saw fire.

In life, it’s best to confront something when you see smoke rather than wait for the fire. Sometimes we dismiss the red flags in our lives because we simply don’t want to deal with them, but if we would have given them attention when we saw smoke, we could have avoided the fire. Faith can’t fix what you won’t face. Faith has the ability to face the facts, look them in they eye, and declare the truth of God’s Word. Below are the last three red flags to be aware of in yourself:

1) You are running around consistently stressed and burnt out. 

2) You are waiting for “the next season” in life to find joy and be happy. 

3) You are constantly negative or sarcastic rather than positive and encouraging. 

The life of a believer is like a gardener. You have to tend to your heart and pull out any weeds of bitterness, envy, selfishness, and so on so that the fruit of the spirit can grow! If you see smoke in your heart, do something about it before it becomes a full-blown fire. How do we do that? When we see red flags within us, we can bring them before God and ask His Spirit to work within us to bring change, health, and freedom. 

The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone; our Father is the master gardener and tender of our hearts. In John 15:1-4 Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Let’s be people who always allow God to move in our lives and mold us into the image of His Son! Red flags are simply signaling areas in our lives where we need to grow in our faith journey. May we be aware of them and invite God to have His way in our lives so we can be Kingdom carriers and effective vessels of His love to a lost world! 

Pray with me today: “Heavenly Father, teach me how to work with you when it comes to tending to my heart. Help me to be aware of the red flags within me so we can uproot them together so I can live freely and fully in your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.”