Trusting God Day by Day

[Aeliana]

December 16

Make Allowances for One Another

I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service, Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.
EPHESIANS 4:1–2

If we truly love one another, we will bear with one another and make allowances for one another. Making allowances doesn’t mean making excuses for people’s wrong behavior—if it is wrong, then it is wrong, and pretending or ignoring it does not help. But making allowances for one another means we allow each other to be less than perfect. We send messages with our words and attitude that say, “I won’t reject you because you did that; I won’t give up on you. I will work through this with you and believe in you.”

I have told my children that even though I might not always agree with everything they do, I will always try to understand and will never stop loving them. I want them to know they can count on me to be a constant in their lives. God knows all about our faults, and He still chooses us. He knows the mistakes we will make before we make them, and His posture toward us is, “I will love you in your imperfection.”

When people do something that you just don’t understand, instead of trying to figure them out, tell yourself, “They are human.” Perhaps you don’t understand them simply because they are different from you.

Jesus knew the nature of human beings, and therefore He was not shocked when they did things He wished they wouldn’t have done. He still loved Peter even though Peter denied knowing Him. He still loved His other disciples even though they were unable to stay awake and pray with Him in His hour of agony and suffering.

What people do will not stop us from loving them, if we realize ahead of time they are not going to be perfect and prepare to make allowance for that human tendency that we all have.

Trust in Him Do you trust God to love you no matter how many mistakes you make? He will and He does. Are you willing to do the same for the people in your life?


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

December 17

Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs

Blessed and happy and to be envied is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him.
ROMANS 4:8

The Bible says, “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him” (Rom. 4:8 NIV). That does not mean that God does not see the sin. It means that because of love, He does not hold it against the sinner.

Love can acknowledge that a wrong has been done and erase it before it becomes lodged in the heart. Love does not register or record the wrong; this way resentment does not have a chance to grow. Why not get out all the past-due accounts you have ever kept on people and mark them, “Paid in full”?

Some of us worry about our memory, but to be truthful we probably need to get better at forgetting some things. I think we often forget what we should remember and remember what we should forget. Perhaps one of the most godlike things we can ever do in life is to forgive and forget.

Some people say, “I will forgive them, but I will never forget it.” The reality of that statement is that if we cling to the memory, we are not truly forgiving. You might ask how we can forget things that have hurt us. The answer is that we must choose not to think about them. When those things come to mind, we must cast down the thoughts and choose to think about things that will benefit us.

Clearing all your records will produce good results. It will relieve pressure and improve the quality of your life. Intimacy between you and God will be restored, and your joy and peace will increase. Your health may even improve, because a calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of the body (see Prov. 14:30).

Trust in Him If you are keeping records of others’ offenses against you, make the choice to mark them “Paid in full.” You can trust God not to charge you for your sins. If He is willing to forgive yours, you should be willing to forgive others.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions