18th. September 2020. Daily Devotion
Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:5-7
Praying for someone who has hurt us deeply is a difficult task, however we are commanded to do it, and to love as God loves.
Proverbs 24:17 says, “Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble.” We need to shift our evil thoughts to reflect instead on God’s healing grace. God’s desire is that all should come to repentance, through Jesus Christ. Hoping for this person’s failure only hurts the one who loves us the most, our Lord.
2 Chronicles 15:7 says, “Do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Even though it may seem hopeless to us, we should never give up. We should just keep praying.
In an abusive situation, we must stand back. We can learn to love from a distance. God never told us we had to trust another person, but we can fully trust Him. We do not have to claim any warm, fuzzy feelings, only a desire to be properly reconciled to another. God’s love is enough to overflow from us, to even our greatest enemies. We must rely on His love, not ours.
It’s easy to love one that is kind, but if we want to show love to God, then we need to show love to difficult people. We can’t do it on our own, but through Christ, we can do all things. We must place our yoke upon Him. He will give us His strength to forgive as He has forgiven us, and to love as He loves us. ~J. Calvert.
Prayers
Father of Love, thank you for loving us. Help us through your love to love others. Amen
Heavenly Father, our prayers are for all who have lost the use of body or mind, in some significant way: those who cannot move, who cannot walk, who cannot see or hear, whose minds are not clear: for who have lost some function that others take for granted. Counting ourselves among them, who among us will not face such trials as we grow older?
We pray that those of us so afflicted may know you, Lord Christ, and that your Holy Spirit may be strong in us, to give us comfort in the inconvenience, the frustration, and often the embarrassment we might suffer. Heal us, where it is your will, Lord; and for those who cannot be healed, let us know with complete confidence that in you we are truly whole. Bring to all of your children full awareness of the freedom and joy that await us, after the short trial of this life is ended, and we may all come to perfection together. Amen.
Lord you are kind and merciful. You forgive us. You are always available to welcome us back after we have failed. It is not easy sometimes to offer kindness or mercy
or to forgive others when we have been offended. It is particularly difficult when we are under stress as so many are now with the coronavirus. Lord guide us to share that same spirit of kindness and mercy that you have shared with us. Amen.
