Thick Skin and a Tender Heart . . . .
Very seldom does a Sunday service go by where I don't leave church feeling like I've been in the presence of the Lord. Along with that comes a certainty that the old evil one is going to pull out all the stops at discouraging me. It seems that he starts earlier and earlier in the weekend to make it happen. He doesn't wait until Monday morning to begin.
It's amazing how "well-meaning" people are used in this attack, and they don't even realize it. I don't think I have a "mean" bone in my body. The Lord has really worked a miracle in my heart by giving me love for everyone. I sometimes get the feeling that not everyone feels the same way about me! (grin)
I know that in my eagerness to serve, I sometimes get carried away. That really rubs some people the wrong way, and I've found that the people who tend to be the most critical are the ones who do the least. We all want to be loved and validated. We all want to feel that we have a place and are important. No one likes to be talked down to or treated subhuman.
I'm slowly, but surely coming to the realization that I cannot make people do what I think they should do, say what I think they should say, or act the way I think they should act. I do know this . . . in the life of any Christian who comes in contact with other people, one must develop a thick skin and a tender heart.
My prayer, on this Monday night, is that God would give me thick skin and a tender heart. Help me to look beyond the way people act and see their needs. Help me to assume and believe the best about them. Help me to be faithful to pray for them and reach out to those that are needy. Give me a heart like thine, Heavenly Father.
It's amazing how "well-meaning" people are used in this attack, and they don't even realize it. I don't think I have a "mean" bone in my body. The Lord has really worked a miracle in my heart by giving me love for everyone. I sometimes get the feeling that not everyone feels the same way about me! (grin)
I know that in my eagerness to serve, I sometimes get carried away. That really rubs some people the wrong way, and I've found that the people who tend to be the most critical are the ones who do the least. We all want to be loved and validated. We all want to feel that we have a place and are important. No one likes to be talked down to or treated subhuman.
I'm slowly, but surely coming to the realization that I cannot make people do what I think they should do, say what I think they should say, or act the way I think they should act. I do know this . . . in the life of any Christian who comes in contact with other people, one must develop a thick skin and a tender heart.
My prayer, on this Monday night, is that God would give me thick skin and a tender heart. Help me to look beyond the way people act and see their needs. Help me to assume and believe the best about them. Help me to be faithful to pray for them and reach out to those that are needy. Give me a heart like thine, Heavenly Father.
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