A Short Supply of Love
by Gail Rodgers
** The Healing Power of Forgiveness: http://thelife.com/spirituality/forgiveness.html
When Susan thought of some of the dear people in her life spontaneous feelings of love sprang from her heart. Then there were others who were not so easy to love. They challenged her sense of justice, her patience and even her Christian faith as she grappled with how to love them.
She re-read the chapter in her Bible that outlines the characteristics of love. One phrase stood out to her: “Love is patient and is kind…” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
She thought about the group at church who were talking about the pastor and trying to get him to leave. Or the woman at work who just seemed to want to make her life miserable. She had a neighbor who mistreated his wife and she felt disgust for him. The politician who represented her was making decisions contrary to her beliefs. Even some extended family members were awfully trying. She felt justified in withholding her love.
Yet here God was clearly outlining the characteristics of love. His Word said the world should know we are Christians by our love. Love should be the hand – rail that will steady us in all our relationships and dealings with the world around us. Yet how is it possible? One could not just turn a blind eye to injustice, mistreatment and gossip.
The springs of love are within God…love does not naturally exist in our own hearts when love is not returned. God tells us exactly what is required of us when we face this dilemma in our hearts. Listen to His wisdom….
“And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly
To love mercy and
To walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
It began to make sense to Susan. Her responsibility was simply to walk humbly with her God. She would allow Him to keep her heart soft with mercy while striving for fairness. This would make the difference in the situations where people seemed so irritating. His Holy Spirit would give her patience and the ability to be kind. This approach would even bring balance to situations at church or work that were getting out of control. This love made sense to her. She had new perspective. Mercy and fairness from God’s heart could help her deal with some of the hard spots in life.
~ Father in Heaven,
You have called me to love the world around me. It’s not an easy thing to do. Thank You that You not only spell out how but You also offer the resource of Your mercy and Your wisdom to bring balance to circumstances that seem so out of balance. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today and let Your love flow through me so others see You through me. In Jesus’ name, amen
Questions: What does it mean in real life to “… act justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”? How can following that verse in Micah change one’s attitude towards people that are difficult to love? Can you think of a situation in your life where that verse could be applied?
About the Author: http://talk.thelife.com/authors/gail-rodgers/
22 Responses to “A Short Supply of Love”
Leave a Reply
Start a Conversation
Media
Connecting Through Technology
Do you use technology to stay in touch with family and friends?
>Watch
This is a POWERFUL devotional. It’s one I will need to work on for sure. There are some people in the apartment building that I have a hard time liking and also at the soup kitchen where I go for lunch 5 days a week the same thing. I need to pull myself together and start showing these people some mercy.
this is exactly what God has really been speaking to me about over the last few weeks. Every day I’ve been really meditating on that scripture from Micah 6:8.
I have a real hard time loving my coworkers as well, but I have to keep realizing that I may be the only example of Jesus that they may ever see and it makes me want to love them even more when I think about it that way.
Unfortunately, in my situation, I have a hard time loving my husband. I mean I know I love him deep down inside, but sometimes I get so frustrated with him that it is so hard for me to show him mercy and to walk humbly with God. Sometimes I feel like I’m saying, I’ll be there in just a minute God, but first I just have to explain to my husband how wrong he is and how I was right. Thank you God so much for this devotional, to give me time to meditate on letting YOUR love flow through me to my husband! I know that taking the time to meditate on this scripture will improve our relationship. Micah 6:8
This devotional came at just the right time for me also. It’s so hard when the person who hurt you is another Christian. But, I’m going to keep this verse in my mind and heart and repeat it every time I’m tempted to replay all the ways my friend hurt me.
Cyndy
Thanks Gail for this wonderful devotional! I pray daily for God to create within me a clean and pure heart and to fill it with His Agape love. It is so easy to love those who love us; but I find it much more difficult to love those who mistreat us, or those who are street people, drug addicts, prostitutes. Those people are the ones we need to truly let God’s love flow through us to them so they can know God is Love.
This devotional also came at the right time for me. Just yesterday I had to face a person at my son’s school who was not really listening to me as I tried to resolve a problem and I became upset. As I left I felt anger and frustration growing inside me. I needed to remember who I am in Christ and this devotional surely helped.
This was so in line with what God has been teaching me lately. It’s so amazing to be transformed by the renewing of my mind. I was struggling so hard with being loving and serving, especially in my marriage, but then a friend lent me the book Every Woman’s Battle, which is so much about learning to love and accept, and what true love really is. I think that God keeps hitting me with this same information because He’s know’s that love and relationship are the most effective ways to save the lost.
It’s hard for me to think that anyone else has the power to control my actions, whether verbally or physically. My daughter (11)went through a terrible ordeal with bullying in school, and when she stepped of the bus one day a girl 3 years older than her, punched her in the face. This was a second incident in a month from the same group of girls. My first reaction was to attack this girl myself, then I held myself back to rationalize the situation. The last week has been extremely trying. At the same time my husband (Sgt. in the US Army) received a call he is being deployed to the Middle East with a unit that is not his own. My utmost reaction was to call and scream at his Captain to ask why he is doing this to us. My point, it wasn’t until I read todays devotional that I realize that I can’t control everything on my own, and if it weren’t for God’s hand in my life, I don’t know if I could have acted justly, or to love mercy, or able to walk humbly. Thank you.
hi, thankyou for the devotional. This is very timely for me too because i am presently following the course Freedom in Christ by neil Anderson at my church. tomorrow’s subject is ‘forgiving from the heart’. i have a major issue in my life that i have been walking with God in for the last 3 years. marital unfaithfullness by my husband and i know that i have come a long way on the road of forgiveness, but i am apprehensive about tomorrow’s lesson because i know it will mean looking at the pain again and making the heart decision to keep on offering up any self-preservation methods i have. just when you think you are thru on an issue, like an onion, you find another layer. so i will bear this scripture in mind and know that there are so many like me working with God on similar things. i’m so glad God is in my life, i dont want to imagine what life would be like without His love, mercy and support. i pray i can become more like Him.
Faye
I am on a fixed income and use the soup kitchen in my city out of need I am in an area that is where the street people, etc hang out. I have been going there for the better part of 15 years(mostly off and on) I can tell you these people are just like you and I, they just have made wrong choises in life. we all do that once in a while. I have found that some of them I have an easier time talking to then others. I can tell you that when I am talking to someone who is on drugs or drunk I am for sure a hold lot different in my whole attitude then I am with anyone else in that area. This is something I know i need to work on because I know we all have a choise in life which GOD gave us. WE both need to remember that these people are GODS CHILDREN TOO. I for one am going to try(and pray) for these people for 1) that they choose to give up whatever they are using and 2)that they are able to find GOD in their lives.
chris
Hello sisters, this devotional was a great one, it sure
cause one to take a look at themselves in respect to this
topic. Love is so powerful and so much needed. God who is
Love let us know just how needed love is. It was because
of God’s love that we are not consumed, it is because of
his love that he sented his only son to die on the cross
for all our sins, who himself was sinless. It was love that
voluntarily chose to leave his positon in glory and come
down to earth and redeem man. I could go on and on about
the love of God toward us. We have been left an perfect
model to follow, no it is not easy, like it wasn’t an easy
task for Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for us. God
has infused us with the power to love like he love, we have
to know this and walk in it. The agape love is from God and
of God, it is spiritually divine. The natural minded man
can’t even understand this agape love, but we who are
spiritual minded do understand. God want us to humble our
selves(our will) unto him(his will), and submitt to doing
his will. Thank God for teo powerful duos, his word and his
Spirit, that teaches us and guides us in the way we should
go. I am purposing to let God have his way with me, yes I
need a lot of work on kfrom God in this area of love and
mercy to those who have hurted me and continue to hurt me.
We have to make choices everyday of our lives, with each
choice we must made a choice to obey God or obey self or
some other. Father I pray that the power of your Holy Spirit
will pour out agape love in our hearts, that we may pour
out that love to everybody. Father we can’t accomplish this
great task without your help.Father work in us daily and
always the will to do your good pleasure, Amen! Sisters in
Chirst have blessed and a rewarding day.
This is a much needed devotional in society today. I find it amazing how the Word of God says that one of the signs of the end is that the love of many will wax cold (Matthew 24). One way to truly defeat the enemy in our life is through FORGIVENESS! Unforgiveness is like a cancer that eats away at the person that is harboring it; not at the person who wronged or hurt! Forgiveness is a hard thing to do on our own, trust me, I know because like Melanie, my husband of 13 years was unfaithful in our marriage. But I can promise that through Christ, you can FORGIVE! I’m hear to tell you that you can’t do it on your own, you have to earnestly pray & search your heart. I liken FORGIVENESS as this: You are in jail along with the person who has wronged you; You hold the key to Freedom but it’s not just your Freedom, it’s the Freedom of the other person as well. Do you want to be FREE or will you allow unforgiveness to keep you a prisoner? The Word of God says, ” For if you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). So, you have a choice: Turn the key & walk out FREE or Swallow the key & perish (because ultimately that’s what you are doing)! In my case, I chose to turn the key & walk out FREE! Not only by myself but with my husband, the other woman & the child. And again, I will say that it wasn’t easy but I made a choice to trust God and His Word. It was only through His Love & Forgiveness that I was able to do this! Trust His Word! Know that when it says, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me, that truly you can do ALL things!!! Think about this: If God could send His Son to die (not just die but be spit on, beaten unmercifully, ridiculed, mocked, nails driven through His hands & feet, pierced in His side; you know the story) for the sins of ALL MANKIND, then who are we to say that we can’t forgive! Personally, I think that the cup that Jesus drank in the Garden of Gethsemane far outweighs the cup that I have to drink. BE BLESSED & STAY STRONG IN THE LORD!!! HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH…
After reading todays devotion I ran across this and thought I would share it: When somebody does’nt treat you right, you have a golden opportunity to help heal a wounded heart. Keep in mind, hurting people often hurt other people as a result of their own pain. If somebody is rude or inconsiderate, you can almost be certain they have some unresolved issues inside. Keep taking the high road and be kind and courteous.Walk in love and have a good attitude. God sees what you’re doing, and he is our vindicator. He will make sure your good actions and attitude will overcome that evil. If you’ll keep doing the right thing, you will come out far ahead of where you would have been had you fought fire with fire…”Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.” Luke 6::27-28
Gail another anointed devotional and a “teaching” we all need, daily! If we would but give the “Agape” love that HE lavishes on us day in and day out..what a different world this would be! We can’t change everyone, but we can each “choose” the way of forgiveness when challenges come (and they do!).. Ms. Meek gave some powerful Scriptural support to “why” we need to let go of unforgiveness..becase when we don’t? We hurt ourselves as well as our offenders..and two are “held up” in bondage. The “forgiving” lifestyle HE provides soooo much better. And, even as I write that? Realize that some have such hard things “to” forgive..But, HE provides a “way”..Amen.
Chris, you had some good thoughts about the homeless and street people..and you are right! These are “God’s children”, too..and Melanie’s great illustration of the “layers of an onion”..all the different peels revealing so much..Underneath that outward layer that we see in these people? God’s beautiful child waiting to be set free..We need to let them “see” HIM through us..It is so very important..and for others we encounter each day of our lives.. We may be the only “church” they see..We want our Lord to “shine through brightly”..and draw them to HIM…A kind word, and our prayers offered up, can allow him to reach and change lives!
Jes, admire you and your husband so much and know ALL will be lifting you in the challenges ahead. Bless your husband “for” serving our great Country..and all in uniform doing that..protecting us and our freedoms..Praying special prayers this day that HE will be with you and the children in every way you need.. as you support your husband in his work. You are a special family! We appreciate and send love across these miles..and know am speaking on behalf of all who’ll read here today, too!
Have blessed day, ladies..prayers going UP!
we shold never with hold our love although it is hard not to do sometimes
sharon
Fran,
Am adding my agreement to your prayers for Jes…Renae
I think we can all agree that forgiveness can be hard to give in certain situations on our own. We know that we have to forgive because if we don’t then it will become sin in our lives and hinder us and our walk with the Lord. I’m thankful that there’s nothing to big for my God…I don’t ever want to be without Him.
I also think sometimes that the person hardest to forgive is ourselves. I think we put ourselves on the back burner and kind of “forget” about our needs. When I was in my early 20’s, we were in revival at church. In my mind I struggled with thoughts of “I’ve done this or that, God couldn’t use me”..just beating myself up. While we were praying, the speaker came down to me and through her the Lord told me “He loved me and I was forgiven.” I had asked for forgiveness but I guess I couldn’t let things go deep down. There have been a few other times He has done this type of thing, just to tell me He loves me. Our God is so loving and forgiving that we are without excuse to forgive. Jesus forgave every one of us, present and future where He saw and why He gave His life for us. It’s hard but with His help we can do it.
Chris, I have helped feed the homeless and taken items to a church here and it was most rewarding. You feel like crying when you see some of them but as said before, we may be the only “Jesus” they see. We need to love them all. I love my parents so much. They have both been gifted with compassion. Their compassion reached out to people in jail, street people, people needing deliverance, etc. I’m thankful I’m compassionate but hope to be more like them and more like Jesus in that area as life goes on. When it comes to “street” people I think most people are just afraid of what they don’t understand. I worked at Family and Children Services and the Health Department. It was a struggle at times when I first started but God used those places to reeeeeeeealy open my eyes and my heart. There are many hurting people out there that need us. Sometimes when we’re not expecting it, they help us in some way. Keep loving on them and praying for them.
God bless all you ladies…I’m glad we’re all here together.
Hi Ladies, L-O-V-E!!! What another awesome topic. The past devotionals have been on abiding in Christ, Prayer to Jesus, and now the most important to the equation is love. Before, I gave my life to Christ, I was divorced and loved to dance like the stars. Talk about how our sins testify against us! Yes, the bitterness set’s in and how can we love anyone, when we are at the bottom of the pit was impossible. I, made bad choices and then tryed to blame my parents, (to strict), nuns (to many rules), penance (did not have enough time and the guilt remained. I was like a bleeding soldier trying to help another wounded soldier get up. Life happens and we are going to get trampled on and wounded. The book of Ruth, displays how Ruth followed her mother-in-law Naomi back to her Hebrew people when she lost her 2 sons and husband. The one son was married to Ruth and when he died her mother-in-law told her and her other daughter in-law(Orpah not OPRAH!) to go back to their people by this grieving mother-in-law. Naomi was SO BITTER..she changed her named to Mara..meaning bitter. Who would want to go with a Bitter mother-in-law?? Ruth, had a love a for her mother-in-law and refused. Ruth, saw what a loving person Naomi was during her marriage. Ruth, found that same love in her husband and that’s what drew them together. The loyal, loving heart, for The God of Israel. Ruth says, “No, I go where you go, your God is my God!” I tend to look at the loving example in Naomi’s life, when her sons, did not even marry Hebrew women. That..was big. The story does not end as it is still found through that lineage of our Saviour Jesus. Love..Hagar..a maidservant, who was crying and God found mercy for her to return to Sarah and Abraham. Job..his love for his God of Israel in the time of his life when the Lord allowed Satan to destroy his family but not him. These people, are my example’s, as, I want to abide in my Lord, my personal relationship which is a deep love of another kind. The LOVE BOAT, had not come in for me, but, finally mine did when I received Christ. I still have many many..sorrows and trials, but I still love Jesus. I fix my eyes on my eternal and not this perishable life. One bad phone call, one bad blood test or being at the right place at the wrong time. Love and Joy go hand in hand. We, often associate Happily ever after like, Cinderella. However, in The Book of Ruth, that Happiness was for a moment and her husband was gone. Joy, is the strength we find in the Lord when everything is gone!. He, is my Splendor in the Grass…my hour’s of glory!!! Loving your neighbor is hard and we can’t do it. WE, need the Mark of Jesus…LOVE. The indwelling of his Holy Spirit and the bear the Fruits. Someone, just put this perfect in order for me as: JOY…JESUS.OTHERS,YOU=J O Y!! Yes, I was bitter, blaming and a bad girl who was sick of all the rejection and abandoment, but Jesus opened the door and love (me,I made a decision) walked in and he became the Love of my Life. By the way, I, was on The Wheel of Fortune 20 years ago. I had $3,600.00 and thought I knew the answer to the puzzle..Wrong! It was What is this thing called Love..an old song. I said, “What is this thing called LIFE”? NO..Money. My family in the audience and people across America would see a Woman who could not spell Love! That was how I started seeking the Lord!! And we are now living Joyfully ever after….Toni …P.S. What would Jesus say is all that matters.
Dear Renae..Have a feeling you are already very much like your parents..Your “compassion” blesses us day in and day out here! The Lord knew what hew as doing when he placed you in the Family and children services and Health Department and bet HIS Light shone brightly through you during that time, too.
Toni!! You’d win the contest on “Love” hands down today! What you just wrote and shared absolutely beautiful..and you should be writing professionally..I could feel His “JOY” in your words!!! What a gift..and am so glad you are sharing with us..
Appreciate ALL you dear ladies..This really is an anointed and special place..and the Lord is bringing ladies here to share and be blessed…Amen!
this gave me my life back. i was looking up horiscopes daily my mind was so confused. thank you Jesus.and to the people who are writting these everyday, God bless you to veryone who reads this sentence.
carla
God bless you too
sharon
Almost 6 months ago, my daughter, with whom I live, basically told me I was useless and an unwanted burden. It still hurts that she became so angry at me and I retaliated with wrong words myself. Anger and shock turned into dismay and hurt. I am still learning to let go of the pain and let God handle her heart and mine. Things are better between us and my Faith in God’s Redemptive Plan gets deeper by the day, but as of right now, I don’t see how we will ever be close because she still harbors these thoughts to this day.