Let Me Stay Gentle

I'm rather fond of Pinterest. I like to share some of my favorite Pinterest finds here on my blog. This image echos a prayer that has long been in my heart. On more than one occasion I have printed this one out and put it up in my house, over the years. It's so easy to become hard in this cruel world. It's easy to make inner vows, easy to let one's soul wither away inside, and easy to scorn people and circumstances and God when they don't fulfill one's expectations. And, I will say, humans are made in the image of God. And God is a God of justice. We are made in the image of justice, so when we suffer injustices it grates against the very core of our nature. We are not made for this. But that's why Christ went to the cross - because forgiveness isn't letting people "get away with it", it's releasing their transgressions to the payment Christ made on their behalf. So we can rest secure, knowing justice has been done. The sins against us have been paid for. Dwelling in forgiveness is key to staying gentle. 

Another key to staying gentle is dwelling in gratitude, for each of us have fallen short of the glory of God, each of us would be deserving of hell without the blood of the lamb to wash us clean. Sometimes life on earth can feel like hell, yes, but the wonderful thing to keep in mind is how temporary it is. We might deserve hell, but Christ paid the price, so now we are Royal Sons and Daughters. No longer deserving of wrath, but deserving of the Glory of Christ, not through our own efforts, but because we are now as blameless and pure as Christ Himself, by His grace and mercy unto us. So even in the moments when life may feel like hell, we have both the assurance that it is temporary, and also the reality that "feels like hell" is very different from "actual hell", because in actual hell, Christ is not there. Yet here in this life as believers, we are never alone. Christ is always with us. And that is indeed an encouraging thought. Another encouraging thought is that life comes in seasons, and some seasons are just better than other seasons, and that is worth looking forward to.

I remain confident of this:

    I will see the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart

    and wait for the Lord.

                            -Psalm 27:13-14

Yes and amen. A person who is hardened and bitter inside does not pray the prayer of Psalm 27. So ever my prayer remains, "Lord, let me stay gentle," and He is faithful to guide me along the path necessary for the answering of my prayer. Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, hope must be cultivated, and it takes the grace (divine strength) of the Lord to stay gentle enough to do this cultivation inside. So as ever, my prayer remains: Lord, let me stay gentle. Amen.