"Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
(Exodus 14:13-14)
To be still. Hah. Easier said than done. My humanity does me in nearly every time.
Even when my body is still, my mouth seems fueled by mypride. Oh, to let the peace of Jesus flow.
But in my responses, my reactions, my pride almost always pushes God's better way, His Spiritual leading, to the back and lets my own self lead instead. That is a recipe for strife, for failure, for everything that is not truly love.
“Where there is strife, there is pride.”
(Proverbs 13:10)
What Is Love?
What is love, you may ask? This is Love:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
I regularly fail at more of those than I want to admit. Pride fuels selfishness, and selfishness is not love. Selflessness is love, but I am too often selfish in my responses, not selfless.
The Love Of Christ?
Thankfully, there's this:
"God does not keep a man immune from trouble; He says- “I will be with him in trouble.” It does not matter what actual troubles in the most extreme form get hold of a man’s life, not one of them can separate him from his relationship to God. "
-- Oswald Chambers’ comment in regards to the first half of Romans 8:35, which says:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?”
Hallelujah! Thank You, Jesus.
Blessings to you today. Strive on! :)
#StraightOuttaTheBible
