Gentleness…Strength or weakness?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 29: GENTLENESS”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
How do you perceive the concept of gentleness?
Is it a concept of strength? Or a concept of weakness?
I would guess most would suggest that gentleness is more a concept of “weakness” than of strength. I thought this way. Someone who was gentle got pushed around. Someone who was gentle was soft. Someone who was gentle got run over.
Is this accurate about gentleness?
Is this what the Apostle Paul means when he writes under inspiration to the Philippians (4:5): “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”
Is the Spirit of God giving us a gift to be a soft, weak, pushover of a person?
While this may be one’s first impression, another look at gentleness is in order. It certainly opened my eyes.
Since gentleness is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 it has to be a characteristic that is positive, God-honoring, and a blessing to a person and to others.
In preparing for this past week’s message I came across an article on Dr. James Dobson’s website. It offers a great perspective on what gentleness really is.
When my daughter was young, she used to love to squeeze my hand as hard as she could, trying to make it hurt. She could squeeze with all her might, but it never hurt. She didn’t need to be gentle because she lacked the power to cause me any pain. Then, just for fun, I’d give her hand a tight little squeeze until she yelped.
It’s the strong hand, not the weak one, that must learn to be gentle.
Gentleness is a strong hand with a soft touch. It is a tender, compassionate approach toward others’ weaknesses and limitations. A gentle person still speaks truth, sometimes even painful truth, but in doing so guards his tone so the truth can be well received. (https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/the-strength-of-gentleness/)
Of all the fruits of the Spirit, gentleness may be the most misunderstood. We often equate gentleness (or “meekness”) with weakness when it’s exactly the opposite. Gentleness is power under control.
Think of it this way: Years ago, circuses and sideshows traveled with a strongman. People would come from miles around to watch the muscular man lift heavy weights over his head, break metal chains and bend bars of steel with his bare hands.
Circusgoers marveled at the mighty man’s strength. And yet, the very same man whose hands twisted iron rods could also pick a delicate flower or hold a tiny baby. The strongman knew how to control his mighty power.
Now that you have a picture of the strongman in mind, listen to the words of Psalm 86:15: “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” God is all-powerful — yet gentle. The very hands that stretched the heavens were themselves stretched and nailed to a cross. Jesus showed gentleness by washing his disciples’ and betrayer’s feet; the Master set aside His title and authority to take on the role of a servant. https://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/marriage-meditation-the-fruit-of-the-spirit-is-gentleness/
Gentleness is not a concept of weakness. It is a concept of power…power under control. Gentleness is having the ability to act or react with power, but choosing not to.
Keep this definition in mind as we move through the week’s devotions…gentleness is a powerful concept which definitely is a gift of God’s Spirit and clearly a trait God desires to be evident to all.
Apply: What has been your concept of gentleness? What leads you to perceive it as a concept of weakness? Of strength?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for teaching me and showing me what gentleness looks like and most of all treating me with gentleness. AMEN.
Faithfulness…Flows from Faithfulness
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 28: FAITHFULNESS”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Psalm 89:1-2 I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
One of my favorite places in the continental United States is the Avenue of the Giants in northern California. As a kid, my dad and brother and I would regularly drive up there after Easter. The trees are magnificent and awe-inspiring. The height of them is breath taking. We would tour a local sawmill and see these giant logs come out as redwood 2×4’s. Root systems from the trees sometimes would wash down the rivers, out to the ocean and then back up on shore (one year we even brought a part home.) We loved going into the redwood stores that sold tables, and clocks, and anything you could imagine out of redwood and often would come home with a piece or two to try ourselves.
Every time someone says they are traveling to the west coast, I say, “You HAVE to go down the Avenue of the Giants, get out and walk among the redwood trees. It’s an amazing experience.”
If I had never experienced the redwoods, I would have nothing, or much less, to speak about. I could say, “I heard about…” but to highly recommend and “sing the praises” of the California redwoods it comes from a place of experience.
What does this have to do with faithfulness?
The Psalmist sang from experience. He had experienced the love and faithfulness of the Lord. So he wants everyone to hear about it and experience it.
Psalm 89 is written by “Ethan the Ezrahite.” The only other reference to this person is in 1 Kings 4:31 in describing the wisdom of King Solomon, “He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.” So we know that Ethan was a wise individual who was known to the nation of Israel and was a contemporary of King David and King Solomon. Take time to read the rest of Psalm 89 and you soon realize his words capture the ongoing reality of the Lord’s love and faithfulness to King David and to the nation of Israel.
Yet what stands out is the realty that Ethan muses about. The sons of David would not be faithful. History plays this out. However, standing in contrast to the lack of love and faithfulness in the future kings of David’s line, is the constant love and faithfulness of the Lord.
30 “If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;
33 but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. (Psalm 89:30-33)
Does this sound like you? I know it does me. All too often I forsake the laws of God and fail to keep his commands. Yet, what is amazing (even greater than the redwoods) is that God does not remove his love from me and continues to be faithful to his promise to forgive me.
Only when we experience the love and faithfulness of God, not as something we’ve earned, but something that he freely gives, will we be motivated and uninhibited in showing love and faithfulness to the people around us. Only when the love and faithfulness of the Lord impact our heart and life will we want to sing about it, speak about it, share it with all the future generations.
It’s just what we do when we see and experience something incredible…God’s love and faithfulness.
Apply: What experience in life has made God’s love and faithfulness most real to you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for a constant show of your love and faithfulness. May I never take it for granted, but every time I experience it, find opportunity to sing about it and share it with others. AMEN.
Faithfulness…Unlimited!
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 28: FAITHFULNESS”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Psalm 36:5 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Psalm 25:10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
What is the limit to your love?
What is the limit to your faithfulness?
I would venture to say we all have a limit to both. Love gets harder when love is not reciprocated. Love is extremely challenging when evil repays love. Love crawls forward when it seems the other person is expecting it or taking advantage of it.
Our love can fail.
And when love fails, so does faithfulness.
Faithfulness wanes for the same reason. If the other person isn’t faithful to me, I don’t have to be faithful to them. If I’m not compensated how I think I should be, I don’t have to be faithful at work. If you’re not being honest, I don’t either.
Our love and faithfulness often times match the love and faithfulness of the other person. As a result, the bar gets lower and lower because we each have a sinful nature that fights against being loving and faithful.
So how can we show love and faithfulness, even when we feel like quitting?
Turn to the love and faithfulness of the Lord.
The love of the Lord “reaches the heavens.” The faithfulness of the Lord “to the skies.”
I can’t tell you how many reasons I have given the Lord to give up on me, to withhold his love from me, and be perfectly justified in ceasing his faithfulness to me. I fail to reciprocate his love. I fall short of being faithful to him. I struggle to always be a person of commitment, integrity and honest.
Yet, it seems like in these circumstances his love and faithfulness does not leave. In fact, they get stronger.
Like the Father in the parable of the Prodigal Son, the love and the faithfulness of God never wavers. It is fully committed to the sinner and ready to forgive the one who repents and returns.
What a great comfort this is to know that the love and faithfulness of God never wavers, even when ours does.
Apply: When has the comfort of God’s constant love and faithfulness been most real to you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your love that reaches the heavens and your faithfulness that reaches to the sky. I need it every day! AMEN.
Faithfulness…Where does it go?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 28: FAITHFULNESS”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
“The fruit of the Spirit is … faithfulness…” (Galatians 5:22).
Faithfulness is a gift of God.
But what about unfaithfulness?
In reflecting on many of the fruits of the Spirit, the obvious conclusion is that all of these (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, etc.) are fruits of the Spirit. (deep insight, right?) While this statement is easy to make, the conclusion is that the opposite of these attributes are NOT from the Spirit of God. When I lack love, joy, peace, etc. I must at the very minimum ask the question, “What is causing me to lack joy? Lack peace? Lack faithfulness?”
This is a great question to reflect on. Why? Because if the positive comes from the Spirit of God, the absence or antithesis of each must NOT come from the Spirit of God, but rather our sinful nature.
The same is true for faithfulness.
If faithfulness is the fruit of the Spirit, unfaithfulness isn’t.
So what leads us to unfaithfulness?
Well, let’s go back to yesterday’s devotion. If faithfulness is being true to one’s relationships, unfaithfulness happens when my love for the other person lags. Perhaps I try to justify by saying that the other person has changed, isn’t loving me, or doesn’t care. So it gives me an excuse to be unfaithful…to break my commitment to one person in favor of another.
If faithfulness is being true to one’s words, unfaithfulness is when our words sag. It’s when what we say is not true or what we say never gets put into practice. Again we may justify it and say, “It’s just a little white lie.” Or “Just this once, it won’t matter.” While we know being a person of their word is more honorable, we believe the lies of Satan who deceives us to think that occasional unfaithfulness on our word is ok.
If faithfulness is being true to one’s tasks, unfaithfulness is not showing up and doing what you committed to doing. It’s agreeing to work a certain time for a certain wage and accomplish a certain task. Again we may justify it to say, “I’m worth more so I don’t have to work as hard.” Or “I worked hard this morning, so I can take it easy this afternoon.” In the end we are sucked into the belief that “just getting by” is OK rather than always giving our best to what we committed.
If faithfulness is being true to our Lord, unfaithfulness is committing idolatry with another God. “Oh, I would never do that! After all, I would never make a fake God and worship it.” Easy to say, but what happens when money and the pursuit of it takes you away from worship on a Sunday? What happens when your quest for the perfect physique keeps you away from your morning devotion? What happens when sports take the pole position in your child’s heart? It’s just simply unfaithfulness.
I don’t like admitting it, but I need Jesus’ forgiveness in all these areas. I can let my relationships down. I can easily over promise and under deliver. I can justify not working as hard as I should. I can appreciate those that pursue other priorities because it happens in my heart to.
It doesn’t make it right. It just makes me unfaithful and in need of the Lord who is loving and faithful…always…for the very purpose to cover my unfaithfulness in his perfect faithfulness.
Apply: What area of life do you struggle the most to be faithful? Ask the Lord for forgiveness to cover it and strength to overcome it.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for being perfectly faithful to cover all my unfaithfulness! AMEN
Faithfulness…What is it?
Devotions this week based on the Message: “BELIEVE: Week 28: FAITHFULNESS”
(NOTE: This sermon series and devotional series is based on a book by Randy Frazee entitled, “BELIEVE.”
You may choose to download or purchase the book as a supplement to your worship and devotional emails.)
Proverbs 3:3-4 “ Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
Happy Mother’s Day…a day late! Yesterday we had a chance to celebrate the gift that moms are in our lives. Sure, not every experience as a mother or with a mother is great or perfect. Some of you are missing your mom’s because they are no longer with you. For the most part, moms are special people.
Moms are selfless. They give time energy and effort to raise their children the best they can. Moms sacrifice their time, their resources, their priorities to make sure their children have what they need.
How would you describe your mom?
This week’s passage combines two terms which I believe are great descriptors of my mom and honestly for many moms: love and faithfulness.
These two terms are often used in the Bible right next to each other. So closely related they are that you can’t have one with out the other. You can’t have love without faithfulness and faithfulness without love.
Love is not just an emotional high, it is a commitment to sacrificial service. It is a willingness to give all on behalf of another (great word for moms, right?)
Faithfulness is a word that has at its root, “truth” and “dependability.” Perhaps one might think of it in these areas.
Faithfulness is being true to one’s relationships. Faithfulness is commitment to stay with a person through life’s up and downs. Husbands and wives promise faithfulness to each other on their wedding day. No other person is to get between them.
Faithfulness is being true to one’s word. Faithfulness is doing what you say you will do and always speaking with honesty and integrity. Faithfulness exhibits as our words are true, even if the message is tough to share.
Faithfulness is being true to one’s tasks. Faithfulness is doing as you committed to do. Faithfulness completes the job you indicated you would do.
Faithfulness is also being true to one’s Savior. As we will see in this week’s devotions, that love and faithfulness originates in the Lord himself. He said to Moses to share with the people, “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,…” (Exodus 34:6). Love and faithfulness are characteristics of God. Only his love and faithfulness to us enable us to exhibit love and faithfulness in our lives.
It fits, right?
Only God has perfectly been true to his relationships. He made a promise to Old Testament Israel to be their God as they walked with him…he never deserted them. He was true to his word…always speaking truth, never lying. He was true to his tasks…if he promised, he acted.
Love and faithfulness do go together. To carry them out will need the power and gifting of God’s Spirit to produce faithfulness more fully in us. I pray the reflections this week on God’s faithfulness encourage and guide us to grow in the area of faithfulness ourselves!
Apply: What category of faithfulness is your strongest? Which is your weakest? (Relationships, Words, or Tasks)
Prayer: Lord, thank you for being perfectly loving and faithful to me. I ask that you forgive me for my unfaithfulness to you and others. Cover me in the love and faithfulness of Jesus and empower me by your Spirit to grow to be more faithful in every area of my life…especially in my relationship to you. AMEN.