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Flip the Script
This week's focus: Faith
I recently read a story about a little girl who, after much practice, tied her shoes on her own. Her mom was surprised when instead of her daughter being happy about her accomplishment, she started crying. Confused, her mom asked, “Why are you crying? You should be happy.” The distraught five-year-old replied, “I know, but now I’ll have to do this all by myself for the rest of my life!”
Like the little girl, we are responsible for acting on what we know. As followers of Christ, we, too, may feel distraught when Jesus tells us to do hard things. It’s not easy to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us or forgive those who’ve hurt us. However, we can have peace knowing that we serve a God who is perfect in knowledge, so if He gives us these commandments (not suggestions), it’s for a reason. Faith takes God at His word, and that confidence leads to action. We honor God when we obey Him, even when we don’t understand, and trust Him with the outcome.
Jesus modeled this when He went to the cross. He proved His faith when He loved His enemies and prayed for those persecuting Him. Amid unbearable circumstances and unimaginable pain, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” The undeserved kindness He displayed deeply impacted the thief who hung on the cross beside Him, leading him to repentance, and his eternal soul was saved (see Luke 23: 34-23). Jesus flipped the script and overcame evil with good.
In this broken world, there is no denying that it can be challenging to love others as we should. However, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can and must extend to others what we’ve so graciously received—undeserved love and forgiveness.
We can all be thankful that our loving Savior obeyed the Father and trusted Him with the outcome. For the rest of our lives, we have the help of the Holy Spirit, who guarantees we never have to do anything all by ourselves.
by: Jennifer McAlister, Communications, My Faith Votes
Romans 12:21
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Prayer Points:
Pray: Dear Jesus, sometimes it’s difficult to love our neighbor as ourselves. When people are unkind, remind our hearts that while we were yet sinners, You died for us. In appreciation, we want to represent You well by choosing love, kindness, and patience. Please help us to show Your love to everyone we encounter.
Think: "Faith is the deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." – Oswald Chambers
Act: Our mission at My Faith Votes doesn’t change just because the elections are over. We will continue to PRAY unceasingly, THINK biblically, and ACT on our faith. Together, we will remain vigilant, informed, and active to be salt and light in our communities, our state, and our country. This is our mission, and what we are called to do, not just every two years, but all the time. We ask you to remain steadfast with us as we trust God with the outcome of our obedience.
We want to see God honored in America, and we pray for an unprecedented spiritual awakening.
This devotion was produced in partnership with Every Home for Christ.
This ministry is made possible by the generous support of friends like you.