Hope For Today "Relationship"

We could all do with a few doses of love and mercy given to us – not because we necessarily deserve it or have done anything to earn it – but simply because the person – in this case, God, wants us to have something good and lovely and life giving. And then, how are we approaching others with grace and peace – those we know well, those who we hardly know; or even those people that bring out the worst in us? Are we doing all we can, in God’s power to offer them love and mercy simply because we want them to have something good today?

What divides us? What happened to being curious together rather than suspecting anyone who sees an issue differently from us; or seeking to solve problems together rather than attacking each other; helping each other instead of competing with one another? Where has that sense of community, seeking the common good, and sticking together through hard times gone? What does Jesus have to say about it all?

We can confidently come to God today and ask for His help.  Too many people think it’s “self-centered” to ask God for help and to bring our concerns to Him.  The opposite is true.  God is eagerly waiting for us to invite Him into our circumstances so He can provide the help we need.

To grow and mature well individuals need good role models.  Role models provide inspiration, guidance, and a framework for growth by demonstrating how to navigate challenges and achieve goals.  They show us by their example, how to think and act well so we achieve goals and when we face the challenges we inevitably will along the way. Truth is, we all have some that are good and some not so good. If we’re not careful, our maturity can be stunted by following the ideas and behaviours of poor role models. 

God wants each of us to come to that place where we first identify with Him and acknowledge who we are in Christ instead of seeking to be propped up by someone else.

The power of another person’s abusive words or actions is not stronger than the power of God’s love. Even though feelings of shame are some of the most powerful we experience, God’s love goes deeper and is able to lift us above it all.

In the same way that God has a plan for each of our individual lives, God also has a plan for our lives collectively in communities and countries.

We all experience hard times.  Disappointments come and we are brokenhearted.  Difficulties pile up and seem to crush us.  As followers of Jesus we are not exempt from these kinds of moments. But God - two beautiful words. But God is with us to comfort and support us and to show us a good way through the challenges.

We can all feel pretty good about things when we are doing well or someone around us is doing well and our circumstances are okay but today we look at the kind of encouragement that is there for us through thick and thin, through our successes and our failures, through our times of well-being in relationships and when things are seemingly hopeless messed up.

We know that some friendships grow in closeness as two individuals come to a place where they realize they know some things about the other person but now desire to have a more intimate relationship so they move down one path together going forward. This is what we seek as we put Step 11 into practice in our lives. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.

The God who knew us before we were even formed in our mother’s womb watches over us and draws us to Himself.  The choice of coming close to God rests with us. In Step 11 we purpose to improve our conscious contact with God so we can understand more about God and how He interacts with us. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Nothing takes more sensitivity and care than dealing with people with whom we have had painful experiences.  It doesn’t matter if it’s close family members or acquaintances, whether the injury happened a decade ago or ten minutes ago, we need to take great care and walk with humility as we work towards reconciliation. That’s the wisdom we are given in Step 9.