Welcome to God's Lemonade Stand

It is my hope that by reading this daily you will grow in your walk with Christ and knowledge of scriptures and be set free from any struggles in your life that are weighing you down. Be blessed to be a blessing.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

LET IT GO

We all have people or situations in life that push our buttons, so to speak. You feel like sometimes you can not take their verbal abuse anymore and just want to tell them off but you know this is not the thing to do. These people might be friends( what kind of friend would that be anyway?), co workers or a boss, a family member( which is hard to understand especially if it is a spouse who is supposed to love you), perhaps someone on the phone from a company you are talking to or someone at a business who is rude. First we are not to use our mouth for evil but for good. To keep fueling the fire is no good. You just have to learn to let things go and 'blow it off'. I got that term from a friend I had in Iowa. It is wise. Continuing to get irritated will do nothing. You have to give situations to the Lord. If you are the kind of person who has never had any verbal conflicts with anyone then you are indeed rare and blessed. Throughout the Bible there are verses on controlling our mouth and our tongues in various situations.

It truly is better to overlook something than to think we have to 'be right' and win the battle. Be it a conflict at work or whatever it is most the time it is better to give it to the Lord than to 'fuel the fire' as mentioned previously.  Proverbs 17:9 says "He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." What is this saying? Let it go! 1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us in speaking about love "It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." So if you are mad at a friend or loved one or perhaps a spouse you need to let it go once again and give it to God. Keeping a list of wrong things to throw up in their face will only keep the battle going. So what do we do? Let it go! And pray of course.

Prayer is the key. Anger is a love killer. Ephesians 4:26 says "In your anger do not sin, Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." Human nature likes to pick fights but that is not God's nature. You have probably heard from a parent at one time "If you do not have anything good to say then do not say anything at all?" Well let's say we practice this even when confronted with mean spirited people who do not necessarily have that same upbringing or if they did totally forgot about it. You do not show the character of Christ by being vindictive and argumentative. Be the 'bigger person' and calm the battle down.

In life you will deal with all sorts of people. Try no matter how hard to act like Christ would act. Bite your tongue. Calm yourself down. Do not overreact to things. This does not mean you do not have an opinion and will never disagree. But remember that this too shall pass and continuing to 'go at it' with someone does not do one bit of good or really achieve anything. Ephesians 4:29 says " Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." No matter where you are be it at home, business, or in the market place make an effort to show the love of Christ in everything you say and do. It truly is a challenge at times but God can help you. Let the Holy Spirit deal with the other person involved.

The verse to shape your behaviour would be Colossians 4:6 which says "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." Go into this day with the attitude that you will represent Jesus no matter what comes your way and let Jesus love shine out of you to those he puts in your path today.

PRAYER: Dear Lord the tongue is a mighty weapon. As in your word it says it can be used for blessing or cursing, help me today to use it for blessing. Help me Lord to overlook an offense and not pick fights or get mad. It takes your strength to do this at times. Lord I want you to guide what I do and say today. Help me show your love to others no matter how they treat me. As I go throughout my day help me to remember to show love simply by smiling at people who are around me. Forgive me for times I have not  had control of my tongue. I want to do better and with your help I can. In Jesus Name, amen.

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