Praised by God #5—Revealed Praise

Do not judge anyone before the Lord arrives. He will reveal the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the intentions of our hearts; then our praise will come to us from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5

Impatience often prevents us from gathering enough information. Incomplete information leads to misunderstanding, misdiagnosis, and poor decisions. Sometimes snap judgments based on minimal information are necessary and appropriate. But these times are rare. In our interactions with others, the rush to judgment can be disastrous. One of the most critical pieces of information for properly understanding someone else is the intention of the other person’s heart. Motive matters. When someone condemns us ignorantly and wrongly because they don’t know our intentions, we suffer. Paul felt the sting of being misjudged because of misunderstood intentions. The Corinthian disciples’ arrogantly framed verdict aggravated and alarmed him. But he responded by graciously warning them not to act as though they were God. Only God knows us intimately enough to understand our motives and determine whether they are good or bad. His evaluation of our actions and their motives is the only one that matters. Other people may “look on the outward appearance, but Yahweh knows the heart.” He “searches all hearts and knows every plan.” Like Paul, we can remain gracious in the face of impatient, arrogant, and ignorant condemnation by remembering that the only Judge who matters will eventually appear. When we stand before him, we can be confident he will recognize and praise the good intentions others fail to see. The Lord, the righteous judge, will award us when he arrives.

Righteous Judge—you who discern my thoughts—search my heart, test my mind, calm my spirit in conflict, and powerfully fulfill every good and praiseworthy purpose.