Every Friday I join a community of bloggers for Five Minute Friday. One word prompt, five minutes. Unedited. The prompt this week is ā¦ Impulse.
Impulse – my first reaction was negative – being impulsive … doing things suddenly or without thinking.
Many wrong decisions can be the result of impulse – a wrong purchase, a rash word spoken in haste, entering a relationship, quitting a job.
Taking the time to think more deeply on it, I realized impulses come from being influenced by a feeling or outside pressure.
What if our impulses were to be influenced by a pressure both outside and inside of our beings?
What if our impulses were molded by reading Scripture daily and then prompted by the Holy Spirit at work in us?
The Israelites came to mind as an example. They brought their free will offerings freely, impulsively, often giving more than was needed.
If our impulses were influenced by God, we would be a people who were generous, kind, gentle, loving, and wise. We would be the lights in this darkened world.
As I typed these words, the lyrics to an old hymn come to mind and I find myself humming along. They are my prayer this morning:
“Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.”
Photo by Isaac Mehegan on Unsplash
Today I may be joining ā¦
I loved the second half of your blog. āWhat if our impulses were influenced by God?āĀ The Israelites giving freely was a great example. I believe all impulses come from the Holy Spirit of God or from the devil. When I wake up and I have the impulse to have a cup of coffee, read Godās Word and pray, that impulse comes from the Holy Spirit of God. Anyway, I loved your blog.
Terri #3 FMF
I, too, enjoy my first cup of coffee while reading my Bible. Those first moments of the day are special!
I like to leap before I look,
I’d rather not just smile, but grin,
and you should know that when I cook
there’s nothing that I won’t put in,
like ice cream with fried chicken,
or pizza with white chocolate.
When it all is tickin’,
it’s good as you can get,
but when sometimes it does go wrong,
and smells like swamp-miasmic fogs,
it’s better then to say, ‘So long!’,
and give the mess unto the dogs
who, having their new meal appraised
will walk away, wet noses raised.
Andrew, you made me smile, maybe laugh, at your impulsive cooking skills!
The phrase from a hymn that kept coming to mind as I read was, āMay the mind of Christ my Savior live in me from day to day, by his power and love controlling all I do and say.āĀ
May it be soā¦
Yes, and thank you for sharing those lyrics as I went and listened to the entire hymn š
I tend to be more of a slow thinker than a quick impulse gal. Sometimes I have trouble trusting my gut; I’d rather analyze things to death first. š
That is so me … except the times my mouth gets the better of me š
Yes!!! you encapsulated what I was trying to say at the end of my blog but did not get there fully in my thinking, so true Taking the time to think more deeply on it, I realized impulses come from being influenced by a feeling or outside pressure. It is the Holy Spirit who leads and guides our impulses and to be moved by the impulse of HIS LOVE Amen!
Thank you. Having read your post, I think you did get there. I loved your description of the Lord as an “impulse guide”.
Thanks, Joanne I am going to share your insights with my readers, it is so impacting and thank you for your encouragement.
Joanne, that’s one of my very favorite songs. I’m humming it now. As I age, I overanalyze everything.
FMF#9
I love when old songs especially come to mind š
What an excellent choice of a song to go with these thoughts! Yes, what a difference it would make if we allowed our impulses to be shaped by our relationship with God! Visiting from FMF#6
A challenging perspective, Joanne. Thank you.
What, indeed, if our impulses were influenced by God? What if He could use them to fulfil His own plans?
Just stopped by from #11
Thoughtful perspective on the Friday word. Thank you for pondering past your first impressions to search out gold.
Lisa
Good food for thought, Joanne.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Joanne. Oh that all our impulses be spirit-led. Can be hard to know where that gut-feeling is coming from. By the fruit we shall know, as you say – if result is loving and generous… Blessings, Dawn #20
a nicely turned reading. š glad i stopped in.
Beautiful hymn. Thank you for sharing. #fmf17