“Spiritually speaking, it’s our quick-twitch reactions that make us or break us at critical moments.”

A thought by Mark Batterson, (2015-10-06) from his book, If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God's What If Possibilities (Kindle Locations 1146-1147). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

This is so true. Mark says, “The split second after someone insults you, offends you, or cuts you off in traffic, what’s your reaction? What’s your reaction time?”

Margaret and I spend a lot of time on the LA freeways, the 101, the 60, the 10, the 710, the 5, and the 134.  And that is just one day.  And there are a lot of people, different kinds of people on those freeways and there are a lot of opportunities to test my quick-twitch reactions.  God has brought me to the LA freeways to help me grow spiritually and he is doing a great job in my maturity even at 68.  My reaction time is getting better.

He then says, “Or how about the promptings of the Holy Spirit? What’s your reaction time? Your reaction time is the time lapse between God’s command and your obedience. And it’s one of the best measures of spiritual maturity.”

He goes on, “The apostle James said, ‘Be quick to listen, slow to speak.’  That little piece of advice has the potential to solve some of our biggest problems! Along with being quick to listen, I want to be quick to forgive, quick to help, and quick to give God glory.”

That is an area that we could focus on that would make a great difference in so many different ways. Wouldn't it?