Thursday, February 9, 2012 - Stomped and Stamped

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things." 

1 Corinthians 13:7

As the wife of a minister, I've been the recipient of many gifts which include Scripture, but mugs are my favorite.  My cupboard holds a half dozen mugs featuring promises, encouragement and instruction. On tough days I tend to reach for either the "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me" or the "This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it" mug.  When I wake up cynical or with a hardened heart I reach for the one that says "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" because I realize the problem is my half-hearted attitude.  Today, the first mug I saw is one I sometimes reach past because it's a little hard to swallow, but since I'm to be at the school at 7:30 I grabbed it, filled it, and sat down to read my devotional. Obviously, God wants me to grab the verse and not just the mug because there it is again, the featured Scripture for today's Kay Arthur devotional focusing on when we're misunderstood and criticized. 

     Trying to make things right once they've been misconstrued is like trying to get out of quicksand: the harder we try, the deeper we sink; the more we say, the less we clarify.  And, as with quicksand, the best advice is to be still.  We teach our kids life's not fair, but then we try to make it fair for ourselves.  Life's not fair. Sometimes people see what they're looking for instead of the truth; they hear what they're listening for instead of what was said.  Ouch, but because God loves u, we can love others; because He's stamped us with His approval, we can endure the stomping of others. 

Lord, this isn't what we want to hear. We want You to open the heavens to justify us. We don't like being misunderstood or misread. Help us endure as You endure unjustified blame. May we live as blamelessly as possible with Your strength so misunderstandings happen as little as possible. Guide us to understand Your approval is all we need.

In the Name of Jesus Who lived to please You alone, though misunderstood to the point of  mob hatred.