Daily Delight
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“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7, NIV).
I have a friend who continually blames others for her lot in life. And let me just say, her life is miserable. She has been homeless on and off and she has all kinds of horrible health issues. I have prayed with her and for her and I have listened to her rant—a lot. I finally told her that maybe God was trying to teach her something since she keeps landing in the same situation. So, now she blames me too.
She won’t take responsibility for the way she reacts to others when they say or do things she feels are wrong. She can’t let it go.
I get it. It’s so hard to let things go. She let me have it that day and I tried to respond with love, but I was hurt and said things I shouldn’t have and may have lost her friendship forever.
You’ve probably heard the expression: If you get knocked down six times, then you have to get up six times. Some people pull others down with them instead with their anger and blame and refusal to take responsibility for their actions. “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up…” (Eph. 4:29, NIV).
Sometimes bad things happen to us through no fault of our own, but we can’t let those things define us, or drag us down, or stop us. We have to pick ourselves up and move on. Switchfoot has a song that says: I dare you to move. I dare you to pick yourself up off the floor…I dare you to move. Like today never happened.
Paul says, “…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1-2, NIV).
There’s so much negatively in the world. Don’t be a part of it. Cut each other some slack. Forgive others because you’ve been forgiven. If you don’t agree with someone, agree to disagree and let it go. Take responsibility for how you react.
I dare you.
Photo: @michelleleahphotography
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Stephanie Cardel
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Stephanie Cardel is a wife of thirty years, mother of three grown children, leader of Bible studies, and writer of a blog about Jesus in the Old Testament. She also writes YA and MG fiction and volunteers in her local public schools teaching abstinence.
If you need her, you can dig your way through the overflowing piles of books to her room, where she’ll be curled up with a cup of mocha coffee doing one of three things: studying her Bible, reading fiction, or writing. You can also visit her websites:
www.withopenedeyes.com, www.checkoutthesebooks.com, or follow her on twitter @StephanieCardel or @fixingmyeyes.
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