To recap, God has given you five smooth stones to slay the giants that come against you - giants of sickness, lack, depression, anxiety, worry or any other work sent from that unseen, but felt kingdom of darkness. These five smooth stones are praising God, giving thanks, praying in the Spirit, rejoicing and loving.
Don't forget the sling that gives these stones power, velocity and aim is your mouth. What you say out of your mouth changes the atmosphere around you and either enables your God or your enemy to work. YOU are the one that has been given power and authority over the power of the enemy. The Word of God spoken from your mouth is what destroys your Enemy. You have to open your mouth and speak words of praise, thanksgiving, joy and love.
The fifth smooth stone is LOVING. Notice I didn't say love - it is loving. Loving is action. It is also an attitude. It can be shown by words, deeds, prayers and most of all, the expression on your face. The two commandments Christ gave us is to love God and to love the other humans. These two actions will determine whether your life is good or miserable regardless of the exterior circumstances. Corrie ten Boom loved in a concentration camp. She triumphed over evil with the good God had given her. You too can triumph over whatever the world or your enemy throws at you.
In fact, love is God's power that triumphs. Jesus Christ demonstrated that love and power when He willingly laid down His life for us even while we were yet sinners, hostile and enemies in our minds to God. He is the living illustration of Father's great love for you. No greater love has any man that he would lay down his life for his friend. You are greatly loved and therefore can love greatly. The love you dispense is not your own natural affection. You cannot conjure up love - you must yield to it. God is love and is willing to flow His love through you if you are willing. That is all it takes - be willing to yield to Christ who is love and who has love for that difficult person in your life.
All of us know by experience how exhausting it is to be nice and loving to these difficult ones. Each of us has made resolutions to try to be more loving, but failed miserably even with the best intentions. That is because we have tried to give them our love - love we have generated on our own. There is a limit to our love and it is easily depleted. God's love, however, is limitless and does not depend on the other person's behavior or lovableness (or ours for that matter).
Our feelings are NOT our guide. As in all things with God - it is His Word, not our feelings, that matter and His Word that is the TRUTH! Our feelings will change and come in line with His Word as we give Him permission to love that person through us. This is a faith choice, not a feeling choice. However, your feelings will align with that faith choice as you give God permission. All God asks is for you to be willing for Him to love through you. When faced with this dilemma simply say, "Lord, I am willing to obey your command to love. I give you permission to love this person through me. I hand over all my hurt feelings and my expectations of them and I yield to your Spirit of love."
Here's an example from my life to illustrate this profitable truth. My mother-in-law (MIL) had come to visit and I was doing everything in my power to gain her approval. The more I tried, the less I felt approved. In frustration, I went to a Bible study where they asked for prayer requests. I presented my MIL scenario and a lady across the room asked if I'd tried unconditional love. Love with no approval strings attached. She told me to ask God how to love my MIL His way - so I did. God gave me the idea for her upcoming birthday. I bought matching plates, cups, decorations and a special cake. We had a lovely party! Afterward, she said,"In all my life, no one has ever done a party for me. I've always baked the cakes and set up decorations. This is the first time someone has done it for me." There were tears in her eyes as well as mine when I realized God knew how to love this woman in ways that would register love to her personally.
God is waiting on your willingness and permission. He is willing and able to love and triumph through you. As always, it is your choice. Choosing love is choosing life and it will go well with you. For more detailed instruction, get Nancy Missler's book, "The Way of Agape" from www.kingshighway.org. God is able even when you are not.
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