Chasing Down Gentleness
“The fruit of the Spirit is…gentleness”
“Clothe yourselves with…the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.”
No sooner had I finished reading these verses the other morning when, standing in my closet, out came (I’ll spare you the details) not the quiet and gentle spirit for which I’d hoped. I felt the loving stab of conviction. In my heart I whispered, “Lord, I’m sorry…again.”
We are told in 1 Timothy 6:11 that we must pursue gentleness. The word pursue is from a Greek word that could be translated “to run swiftly after; to press on and not be deterred in order to catch something.” How easily we give up when we don’t change overnight.
The transformation of a Christian’s life is not “presto chango,” as if suddenly by magic. It is repentance and faith—daily taking up Jesus’ yoke and learning from the One who was gentle and lowly. So don’t give up and be discouraged! Spiritual change is a slow process that we must pursue day by day, sometimes even moment by moment!
3 comments
Jennifer Birchfield | October 7, 2010
Thank you, Cathe... I must say you always are given the exact words that pierce this heart and tell me what I need to hear from our God!! It is SO great how He uses you... may you and yours be blessed forever and always!!!!
Leave a comment
katie | October 15, 2010
Quiet, gentle spirit? Not hardly, 'I am woman, hear me roar!', remember? So often I react first and then, as the Lord hits the "replay" button in my mind, I swallow and see how, once again, I yielded to myself, and not my Lord. There is a point where not immediately responding to something is no longer a sign of weakness or ineptness. Lord help me find that line and not cross it without your leading..
Leave a comment
Elizabeth Del Cioppo | October 27, 2010
2 Timothy 3:1-7 (New International Version)
2 Timothy 3
Godlessness in the Last Days
1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
6They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
Leave a comment
Leave a comment