Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone in your life was always gracious and complimentary; they never argued, always agreed with you, and never got on your nerves? But the truth is, we all are a little bit difficult from time to time. We all face difficult circumstances, we all get stressed, we all get grouchy sometimes, and we even say things we shouldn’t. (Except for Joel, of course!) The important thing is that when other people around us are being difficult or “sandpaper,” as I like to say, we are able to look past their actions and love them the way Christ loves us. A while back, I had someone in my life that was a bit difficult. I was always nice. I put on a smile around them. One of my friends who knows me really well pointed out that she could see that I was having difficulty with this person. At first, I tried to reason that away thinking, “Oh, I’m nice to that person. They don’t bother me.” But when I really examined my own heart, I realized I was focused more on the irritations than I was on loving this person in spite of them. I knew I had to do something to go out of my way and show love even when I didn’t exactly feel it. I knew that if I would change my actions, my emotions would follow. You see, love begins with a choice. We can choose to love someone even if they are difficult. Faith and love go hand in hand. Sometimes we have to love by faith. You don’t need faith for the things you have, you need it for the things you don’t have. If you don’t have love for someone, by faith, act like you do until your feelings line up with the Word of God! Do you know what happened? The atmosphere around me changed. When I went out of my way for this person, my feelings toward them changed. The atmosphere when we were together changed. Things are different now, and I praise God that my friend helped me to rise higher in my love for others! We have to remember, people aren’t going anywhere. We have to make a choice to love the people around us because love has a supernatural effect. If you want to change your emotions today, change your actions and your mind because when you choose love, it will change your feelings! “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5, NIV)
Posted on: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 09:31:06 +0000
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