Every time I perceive
hurt, rejection, slight, or lack,
I have the opportunity to
practice turning--
turning away from
those feelings
and turning them
into something
that isn’t natural.
Anger, frustration and
hurt are natural responses.
Self is responding to the
injustices
it perceives taking
place.
Sometimes those are very
real.
But the question isn’t
whether
those feelings are valid
or not.
The question is whether
those feelings
are going to keep us in
natural response
or whether they are going
to lead us
to become kinder, more
gentle,
more compassionate
people.
It takes courage to
choose compassion.
Because we have to trust
that our God
cares about what has
happened to us
and will make right—in
His way—
what might have been
wrong.
A supernatural response
requires
turning from self and
toward another.
We step away from our
self-focus and
the judgment process
attached.
Instead, our desire is to
live
authentic lives, as
Christ lived His—
to love our neighbor as
ourselves.
I am finding that when I
am hurting,
He asks me to go comfort
another.
When I feel rejection,
He asks me to reach out
to another.
When I think I have been
treated wrongly,
He asks me to practice
loving another.
It's not only the last
thing I might want to do,
it's often the last thing
I feel like I CAN do.
Jesus said, “Take
courage. I am here.”
Matthew 14:27
When we "take
courage,"
we can turn away from our
natural responses
and exchange them for
responses that
represent His heart
for others.
We tend to associate
courage with bravery.
It is actually a heart
response to His presence.
There is a divine connection between courage
and
compassion, kindness, and gentle
patience.
It is a key that releases
us from
the natural realm of
self-focus.
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