Journal Entry ~ 01/07/18

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. - Galatians 6:9-10

As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone. We are to do good to everyone. The fruit of the spirit presented in the previous chapter in Galatians is a guideline for the good we should be doing - we should be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and we should have self-control.  Reading that list completely humbles me - I can think of times over the past week where I failed at every one of those. 

As believers, these words should describe us. They should be the words that come to the minds of the people who are living life with us or around us. Would the people in your life describe you as the most loving person they know?  I’m pretty confident there are people who would describe me that way in my life, but if I’m being honest, i would also have to say there are some people in my life who would scoff at that statement. What about describing you as the most patient?  Most peaceful? Most gentle?  I’d fail on all accounts, just in this week alone. 

But as much as reading that list can make me feel like a complete failure, these are the things that we must not grow weary of.  When we look at who we’re supposed to be, we can despair at the thought that we are so far from the target, making us want to just give up. The enemy loves to whisper in our ears that we are failures.  He wants us to think that if we try to change, the people in our lives will only laugh at us; He wants to believe we cannot possibly go back to people we’ve hurt with our harshness and try to be gentle; He wants to cling to the generational strongholds which give us excuses for not being who He calls us to be. The enemy does not want us to persevere and gain victory. The enemy does not want us to be the most loving person that people in our lives know, so he will convince us there are relationships we cannot repair, or that we cannot change. The enemy wants us to despair in our sin, he wants us to feel shamed and condemned, he wants to remind us of our mistakes and failure at trying to live up to God’s expectation over and over again.  He wants us to grow weary and give up. But God.  You see, with God there is no condemnation for our sins. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. - Romans 8:1. He doesn’t hold on to our past, so we shouldn’t either. Take each day as new, and let Him do a new thing in you. 

Don’t grow weary of doing good to everyone. Everyone. That means your difficult sister and your challenging boss, that frustrating customer service rep on the phone, and the obnoxious driver who just cut you off in traffic. Everyone. Every single person you come in contact with should see that list of characteristics radiating from you. Don’t give up if you’ve failed at the challenge - just keep pressing on, treating each day as new. You’re not who you should be, but you’re not who you were. He is making you into a new creation. Let God make you into the most loving person to the people living around you, let God bring you joy the likes of which you have never known, let God teach you patience and kindness and goodness, let God show you how to be gentle. 

Press on ~ you are loved 💗
Many of you know I have been trying to raise money to replace the uncomfortable caregiver's chairs in the infusion center at Illinois Cancer Specialists.  It is important to me that our caregivers are able to sit comfortably for hours while we receive our chemo treatments ~ we need our caregivers to be at their best so they can care for us at our worst.  Please consider donating ~ every little bit helps!  Here is the link:



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