PRAYER PROMPT ••• In my 43 years, I’ve given up on piano lessons, diets, book projects, and probably more things than my Instagram character limit will allow me to list.
Eventually, all of us want to give up on something.
Or someone.
A commonality of all people is that at some point, they will say or do something that will make you want to give up on them.
They will hurt your feelings or disappoint you.
They will fail to live up to your expectations.
They will make choices you don’t understand.
Do you have someone in mind?
Or several someones?
A sad reality none of us want to admit: we’re no different.
Someone else who reads this would think of you or me!
It’s because we are imperfect people in a fallen world.
Yet, we are called to love everyone, including our enemies.
And those who have hurt us, disappointed us, failed to meet our expectations, or made choices we don’t understand.
Unless we have Christ though, we cannot love with the unconditional love (Matthew 5:43-48).
1 Corinthians 13:7 says, “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
Doesn’t just reading that verse give you hope?
It’s the very love of God put very succinctly!
He doesn’t give up on us; He waits for us to turn to Him.
He grieves over our bad choices, but He’s faithful and doesn’t abandon us when we mess up.
He loves us with an unconditional love that defies our understanding.
If God can love us through our sinful natures, rebellion, willful defiance, stubbornness, and pride – shouldn’t we strive to extend that gracious love to others?
It’s not easy.
I’m certain that I haven’t made it easy for God to love me through the years, but He has and He still does.
Let’s make an effort to not give up on others, but pray for them through all the ups and downs and disappointments and in-betweens.
Today, as you pray, thank God for loving you even when you disappoint Him.
Thank Him for modeling perfect love and loving you in spite of yourself.
Ask Him to help you love others the same way, even when you’re tempted to give up on them.
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DISCLAIMER: Y’all are smart people, so hopefully you already know this.
But let me put a caveat out here: this Prayer Prompt does not imply that you should stay in an abusive relationship or be an emotional punching bag for someone.
Sometimes, we have to walk away from people for our own safety or well-being.
But that doesn’t mean we have to give up on them as a lost cause and stop praying for them.
Jesus can change people if they are willing to be changed. ❤️
One Response
Beautiful!