I have been sensing a new teaching from the Holy Spirit recently, and this morning’s devotional has made this lesson even clearer to me.

PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

1. How can I purify my heart and thoughts to better reflect God’s love for me?

I know there are old habits I need to break free from, but I didn’t fully understand their significance until I came across the phrase “better reflect God’s love for me.” Before we can break free from unhealthy patterns, we can’t fully receive God’s love. God is always eager to love us—it’s us who struggle to see or sense it. Those unpurified thoughts that lead to unhealthy behaviors are at the root of the distance between God and me.

My focus should be on addressing those unpurified thoughts. They are truly useless. For one, they disturb my inner peace by provoking fear and draining my energy as they spiral into even more thoughts. But the worst consequence isn’t just inner turmoil—it’s how these thoughts block the flow of love and connection with God.

2. How might my thought life impact my ability to show self-compassion?

Reflecting on the second devotional question, I realized something important yesterday. I caught myself doing an internal evaluation, tallying up how many “boxes” I had checked to determine if I had been productive enough to “earn” relaxation as a reward. No! That is not God’s way. I see it clearly now.

I don’t need to check any boxes to qualify for peace or joy. This reminds me of something my father-in-law said to me recently: there are two types of religions in the world, the doing kind and the done kind.

Amen to the Lord I have encountered. He is the King of done. The battle has already been won. All my self-righteous rules and achievements are nothing but a step backward from His truth. Amen!

I choose to purify those thoughts so that I can be a better reflect of His love. And love for myself and love for others. 

Lord, purify my heart and my thoughts, that I may better reflect Your love for me and extend that love to myself. Amen.