Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law"
Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control
Day 2: Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness
If you read yesterday's blog, today you should be filled with love and joy with a peace of mind that only God can give you.
Long-suffering (patience) is a fruit that you definitely have to bear in order to operate in love, have joy, and be at peace with whatever you're faced with in life. Knowing that God does things in His timing and His timing ONLY will definitely test your patience. Honestly, if you don't have patience with God you can forget about having patience with other people, being stuck in traffic, at work or whatever it is that tests your patience daily. God has never been in a rush to do anything...it took ~31 years for Him to start using Jesus (in our sight) and ~2 more years to complete that work in Him. He called David to be King, but it didn't happen immediately. David spent years under Saul's leadership and more years running from Saul who wanted to kill him before He could sit on the throne that God had long promised him. I have no shame in saying that patience is an area that I definitely need work in because generally I want what I want, when I want it (not good...I know). In fact, yesterday I wrote a status on FB that said "My plans = God's entertainment". My plans were on an expedited schedule instead of God's schedule. To my surprise God has definitely found a way to slow me down to teach me a little patience. Good things come to those who wait, PATIENTLY. Oddly enough, God was kind enough to slow me down before I got out of control and wrecked myself...that's His kindness.
Kindness is similar to mercy; where, God spares you from what you REALLY deserve. You see I shouldn't be able to speak in God's name with all the sinning I've done, BUT GOD is so kind that He looked beyond my faults and scars to use me for His glory. He is so kind to prepare a place for me (and you) in the Kingdom just as long as I live for Him. He kindly disregards knowing that my last mistake will not be my LAST mistake and that my last sin will not be my LAST sin. That's when the goodness of God comes into play.
Goodness is very similar to grace where God gives you what you do not deserve. I love the saying "God is good all the time and all the time God is good". It's used a lot but that doesn't take away its validity...God is in fact good and you can never give Him enough credit for that. Everything that I have today is because of the goodness of God. I am blessed beyond measure. Goodness comes from the heart and it should flow from heart to heart. Just God is good to us we too should be good to others especially those who can do nothing for us.
David says in Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever". I'll go out on a limb to say goodness and kindness are interchangeable with grace and mercy. As long as God shows us (and we show others) kindness and goodness and we patient in allow Him to do so we will have a place in the Kingdom forever. I don't know about you, but my goal is to see that place; therefore, if cultivating the fruit of patience, kindness, and goodness will allow it I will try that much harder to do it.
Testimony
Yesterday morning I was running behind...I couldn't get my hair right, then I had to cook breakfast, then after I got in my car I noticed I forgot part of my lunch so I had to go back inside, while inside I decided to change my shirt -- everything was going "wrong" in my sight. My commute is usually 20 min or so, but 45 minutes had elapsed and I was stuck in stop-and-go traffic which is unusual for the route that I take. I almost started to complain until I got to the place where a police was sending us on a detour due to an accident that caused them to shut down the entire road. God said to me "see that could've been you BUT I put things in place to ensure it wasn't". In that moment I realized God had tested my patience and had been kind and good in doing so by blocking it. If my morning had gone according to MY plans I could've been in a life-chaning accident.
God is Good!
#FearlessFAITH
Day 2: Long-suffering, Kindness, Goodness
If you read yesterday's blog, today you should be filled with love and joy with a peace of mind that only God can give you.
Long-suffering (patience) is a fruit that you definitely have to bear in order to operate in love, have joy, and be at peace with whatever you're faced with in life. Knowing that God does things in His timing and His timing ONLY will definitely test your patience. Honestly, if you don't have patience with God you can forget about having patience with other people, being stuck in traffic, at work or whatever it is that tests your patience daily. God has never been in a rush to do anything...it took ~31 years for Him to start using Jesus (in our sight) and ~2 more years to complete that work in Him. He called David to be King, but it didn't happen immediately. David spent years under Saul's leadership and more years running from Saul who wanted to kill him before He could sit on the throne that God had long promised him. I have no shame in saying that patience is an area that I definitely need work in because generally I want what I want, when I want it (not good...I know). In fact, yesterday I wrote a status on FB that said "My plans = God's entertainment". My plans were on an expedited schedule instead of God's schedule. To my surprise God has definitely found a way to slow me down to teach me a little patience. Good things come to those who wait, PATIENTLY. Oddly enough, God was kind enough to slow me down before I got out of control and wrecked myself...that's His kindness.
Kindness is similar to mercy; where, God spares you from what you REALLY deserve. You see I shouldn't be able to speak in God's name with all the sinning I've done, BUT GOD is so kind that He looked beyond my faults and scars to use me for His glory. He is so kind to prepare a place for me (and you) in the Kingdom just as long as I live for Him. He kindly disregards knowing that my last mistake will not be my LAST mistake and that my last sin will not be my LAST sin. That's when the goodness of God comes into play.
Goodness is very similar to grace where God gives you what you do not deserve. I love the saying "God is good all the time and all the time God is good". It's used a lot but that doesn't take away its validity...God is in fact good and you can never give Him enough credit for that. Everything that I have today is because of the goodness of God. I am blessed beyond measure. Goodness comes from the heart and it should flow from heart to heart. Just God is good to us we too should be good to others especially those who can do nothing for us.
David says in Psalm 23:6 "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever". I'll go out on a limb to say goodness and kindness are interchangeable with grace and mercy. As long as God shows us (and we show others) kindness and goodness and we patient in allow Him to do so we will have a place in the Kingdom forever. I don't know about you, but my goal is to see that place; therefore, if cultivating the fruit of patience, kindness, and goodness will allow it I will try that much harder to do it.
Testimony
Yesterday morning I was running behind...I couldn't get my hair right, then I had to cook breakfast, then after I got in my car I noticed I forgot part of my lunch so I had to go back inside, while inside I decided to change my shirt -- everything was going "wrong" in my sight. My commute is usually 20 min or so, but 45 minutes had elapsed and I was stuck in stop-and-go traffic which is unusual for the route that I take. I almost started to complain until I got to the place where a police was sending us on a detour due to an accident that caused them to shut down the entire road. God said to me "see that could've been you BUT I put things in place to ensure it wasn't". In that moment I realized God had tested my patience and had been kind and good in doing so by blocking it. If my morning had gone according to MY plans I could've been in a life-chaning accident.
God is Good!
#FearlessFAITH
Amen! Love that scripture in Psa. my fave!
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