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The earth is Jehovah’s, and its fullness, / The habitable land and those who dwell in it.

 

As I write this, I’m going through a difficult season. It isn’t for myself. It’s for one of my children. He hasn’t been treated fairly. He has been recovering from that and was recently, again, taken advantage of by someone else. I hate seeing him suffer and I want to step in and do something about it. In my powerlessness, prayer is my first go-to, but I must confess that I want to pray that the people who are hurting him would be destroyed.

Instead, I am learning to accept that God is in control of everything and I need to accept circumstances that seem harsh to me and continue to do that to which I have been called . . . be loving. I’m not called to ask God to get even with people on my behalf. I’m called to pray for them, to seek opportunities to share the Gospel with them, and to work always in love toward healthy reconciliation.

I don’t want to do that. I do it anyway. I pray that some day I will want to do that. For now, I just do it because I’m supposed to.

 

Lord, how blessed we are to live on a planet where You have provided all for us. How equally blessed we are to live among others You have created in Your image. Help us to live You out well by loving others as You want us to. Amen.

 

Paula Barney

adminassist@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concern: Hearts of love for all people.