Cloudy skies and rain for weeks. Trump/ Biden/ Bernie. Coronavirus. Stock prices. Tornadoes. Seasonal affective disorder. The season of higher rates of death for older adults. UMC death throes. It is a lot to absorb.
I notice this — that when we are all wound tight and anxious, we go looking for someone to blame. We carry a low-grade irritation toward others that burns away all the grace.
When you see that bubbling up, resist it. That may well be the enemy of your soul, baiting you with the spirit of offense. Don’t take the bait. The spirit of offense is one of the enemy’s go-to demons. It is mean and graceless, and demands its own way. It is the antithesis of 1 Corinthians 13. It is impatient, unkind, quick to anger, light on love. It tells you it wants to stick up for you and not let you get run over by people, but that’s a lie. It actually cares nothing for your soul, or for justice, or for your relationships. Its whole purpose in the world is to separate you from love, mercy and grace.
Fight back: Answer frustration with patience, and irritation with kindness. Find someone this week to encourage. If that seems too trite a solution for you, then get serious about the state of your own soul. Pray like crazy for God to kill the spirit of offense that breeds in you. Pray earnestly for that. Don’t let it take root.
We’re all weary of rain and illness and all the rest of it these days. We are all in the same boat, all just trying to find spring … and it WILL come! While we wait, let’s create some of our own, by bringing a little “blue sky” into the world.
The one thing we can control is how we respond so friends, be gentle with each other. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:34-35
