POWER!

I mentioned in the blog yesterday that I wanted to share some of the lessons that I have been learning about love over the last few weeks and months.  The sign posts that have been pointing to His love seem to be placed on every corner of my life!  They pop up in every situation that I find myself in the midst of!  One of the interesting details is that most of the situations are not ones that I have caused of my own volition.  Most have been the results of the attack on my wife’s health and then the recent difficulties with my Mom’s fall and subsequent passing.  All of these hard times were generated by other individuals in their response to these events, many times because my current responses or life choices in the direction that our family went over the years were different than theirs.

As I thought about this in recent days I came to the realization that I had never experienced this depth of personal attack before.  I tend to have an easy going personality.  I enjoy a good laugh and like to make people comfortable and happy.  The intensity of the negative words toward me and/or the lack of any response from some that I thought I could depend on really sent my world into a tail spin.

Along with the confusion came feelings of anger, unforgiveness and utter frustration that I didn’t know I had inside of me!  As a Pastor I have counseled countless individuals and couples regarding their similar reactions to what I have recently experienced, but up until now I can see that I never quite understood the depth of what they were going through!  Those feelings were so intense in me that they captivated my every thought and began to find their way into almost every conversation.  I found myself continually rehearsing what had been said or done and then wasted additional time planning my counter attack!  This was completely new to me and for a long time I wasn’t quite sure how to deal with everything going on inside of myself… much less in dealing with the individuals involved because most of them were family or friends!

The signs of God’s love that I began to notice as I traveled this new road just seemed too opposite to what my head was screaming at me to do!  Visions of my responding with sharp and critical words began to dance around in my mind!  Those thoughts were a lot more comforting to my natural side than the idea of smiling and turning the other cheek!  The one saving grace in those early days was that opportunities to “set the record straight” did not immediately seem to present themselves.  Days and then weeks would go by and by then I had cooled down and was more open to Godly reason, even though the pain was still pretty sharp.

Yesterday as I began a study on God’s love using I Corinthians chapter thirteen as a foundation, I had a sudden revelation.  In the course of reading, meditating, writing notes and just listening to the Lord, I turned to I John 4:8 where it states that “God is love.” (KJV)  Instantly I had the thought that if God is love then you could conceivably take every place in the Word where it says, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit or the Word and substitute the word LOVE!  Then you could make declarations of your faith saying things like “I can do all things through LOVE which strengthens me,” (Philippians 4:13 KJV-personalized) or “LOVE hasn’t given me the spirit of fear but of power (or ability), of love and of a sound mind.”  (2Timothy 1:7 KJV-personalized)

Looking at God’s promises in the light of His love in this way, opened a whole new door for me to accept the challenges of loving the unlovely in the manner in which He encourages us to do.  Walking in His LOVE will actually give us the strength we need to take the path He calls us to pursue.  Acting in His LOVE dispels any fear (in either you or anyone that you are dealing with) and gives you His ability to think and act as He does, even when your natural side doesn’t want to!  Responding in His LOVE gives you the soundness of mind to see through the hurt and be a vessel of His healing to everyone involved!

I once saw Barry McQuire in concert and always remember him making the statement that “Christians should be shock absorbers.”  In other words, we should be the ones – through the power, strength and ability of God’s LOVE-to, stop and reverse the hurtful words and actions of others in this world.  Romans 8:31 says that “if God is for us who can be against us?”  (God’s Word ©) That is a mighty powerful weapon for us!  Take that verse and put it to use today by confessing that “If LOVE is for us, who can be against us.”  When you think about it, LOVE was the weapon that God used to change the course of mankind 2000 years ago, and it is just as powerful for us today!

Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”