Right Next Door

Put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Colossians 3:12

This is actually yesterday's blog, I will blog today's in a seperate blog. I did read this devotional yesterday, but struggled with it, and what God was trying to say to me through it, so I rebelled and didn't blog about it yesterday.

The story in the devotional is about a woman answering God's call to help her recently widowed neighbor. Her neighbor is a young, mother struggling to balance everything in her life.

The story in the devotional wasn't exactly along the same lines of what I was struggling with. I was struggling with the verses that God was pointing out through the anchor verse and the deeper walk verses. I am having trouble in several different, and completely unrelated areas of my life, with the compassion and kindness that I should feel towards my Christian brothers and sisters. I see women with gentle and quiet spirits and I admire them so, I strive to be like them, but God just didn't make me that way. So this is an area in which I struggle. I have observed my reactions to be much calmer over the last couple years that I have been focusing on this, but I still let my mouth run away with me sometimes, and my hot head gets in the way. I am learning to try to look at the other side of the coin, but I don't always WANT to look at it. When you are so frustrated, you just don't want to, then a devotional like this comes along, where you feel God talking directly to you, and you go ahead and look at the other side. I am struggling.....and I don't understand all the things that are going on....but I know the one who does, and I know that He will bring me through, and mold me in the process, as long as I continue to rely on Him.

Steps of Faith:
Heavenly Father, show me what You want me to do to help people who are in need. Give me a tender heart and use me to further Your kingdom.

Deeper Walk:
Colossians 3:13-17 NAS

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in the word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.