"He was moved with compassion." (Matthew 9:36)
Showing compassion is being moved by the suffering and pain of others. “It literally means to suffer with.” When one can identify with another’s pain or human experience, there is a feeling of warmth and caring, along with a desire to lift up or assist. These same characteristics have been found to improve our mental health when we can apply them to ourselves. “Self-criticism will turn failure into despair, according to Stanford research. But self-compassion will help you view disappointment as a learning opportunity” and do things differently moving forward. It’s saying to ourselves what we would say to someone else. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Then, while he tarried in the world, a man among men, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, he was constantly moved with compassion; for he felt all the griefs of mankind in himself. He took our sicknesses and carried our sorrows: he proved himself a true brother, with quick, human sensibilities. He gave up all the comforts of life—he gave his life itself; he gave his very self to prove that he was moved with compassion.” The Lord’s great compassion moved him to sacrifice all for us. Yet, we cannot glorify Him if we are broken and defeated. He has paved the way for us to express similar compassions even toward ourselves. We have the power to turn self-criticism into self-compassion. GiGi❤️
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“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)
“Low self-esteem is rooted in the anxiety of not feeling good enough. No one is born with low self-esteem. It is a self-debilitating condition developed from childhood as a result of feeling unappreciated, undermined or misunderstood by authority figures, mostly parents. When our spirits are crushed by those we look up to the most during a vulnerable age, we begin to question our value. Eventually, we find it hard to celebrate who God has made us to be. Our focus becomes our inadequacies rather than God’s saving grace. Low self-esteem and shame often go hand in hand.” Low self-esteem can be spurred by a critical inner voice. That inner voice might sound logical because it is a familiar voice. The critical messaging such as, “I made the same mistake again,” “I am so hopeless,” or “I don’t deserve God’s forgiveness,” is rooted in the negative messaging we received throughout our lives. Some think that repentance means the dread of hell and a sense of wrath, but repentance is a change of mind with regard to sin—with regard to everything. Spurgeon wrote, “I advise you, dear friends, to beware of making yourselves out to be worse than you really are. There are some persons who could not do so if they tried…Do not call yourself ‘the chief of sinners’ if you are not, and do not suppose that repentance means the exaggeration of your evil life into something more evil than it really was…Go and confess that to the Lord, but do not bring against yourself a morbid self-accusation which is not true in God’s sight.” When how the Lord sees me is enough! GiGi❤️ “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (I Peter 5:7, NLT).
Overthinking is something we all do. It is defined as experiencing a loop of thought. It “involves thinking about a certain topic or situation excessively, analyzing it for long periods of time.” It is difficult to redirect your thoughts as you become consumed with thinking about that one thing. “Turn every care into a prayer. Let your cares be the raw material of your prayers. Baptize every anxiety into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and so make it into a blessing…Let your cares drive you to God. I shall not mind if you have many of them if each one leads you to prayer. If every fret makes you lean more on the Beloved, it will be a benefit.” Charles Spurgeon One can only imagine how much time we would spend if we turned every excessive thought, and every overly concern into prayer. We would find that we will spend much more time with the Lord, and of course, our faith and walk with God will be strengthened. The Lord wants even the little things. GiGi❤️ And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.” (Luke 17:12-14)
Whatever it is that we face today, we don’t have to be great in order to trust God, nor must we have great faith. Our faith can be as small as a mustard seed and that will be enough to move God. We don’t have to pray better, we just have to pray. “These 10 lepers were required by the Savior to perform an act of faith in Him before they had the slightest evidence in themselves that He had already healed them. Before they began to feel their foul blood cleansed—before the horrible dryness of leprosy had yielded to healthy perspiration— they were to go towards the house in which the priest lived to be examined by him and to be pronounced clean. They were to exhibit faith in Christ Jesus’ power to heal them by going to exhibit themselves as healed, although they were in the same condition as before! They were to start to the place where they should be examined by the priest, believing that Jesus had healed them, or would heal them, though, as yet, they had no internal evidence, whatever, that their flesh would become as that of a little child!” Charles Spurgeon Our faith is our evidence. GiGi❤️ “Serving the Lord with humility.” (Acts. 20:19)
Learning from our mistakes is part of the essence of humility. “When a mistake is made, people try to pretend that it did not happen. They try to cover it up, justify the wrong situation, which leads to additional mistakes.” There are some who gaslight in their relationships in an attempt to convince the other party that they are the problem. “Quite often, more damage is done to relationships, trust and integrity by the actions taken after the original mistake. Of course there is a choice when a mistake is made — admit it, learn from it, correct it and apologize to those that were adversely affected. Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” Charles Spurgeon wrote: “He that will not be humble shall be humbled. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God and he shall lift you up, lest he leave you because you hold your head so high.” If we are too tall we must stoop down to fit inside the doorway. Humility helps us to admit when we are wrong. GiGi❤️ “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9)
Yes, we are our brother’s keeper., We are responsible for one another. The Dali Lami is quoted saying: “And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.” It is a “Cainish Spirit” when one insulates from the concerns that go on around them and responds, “It is not my problem. Am I my brother’s keeper.” What the Lord confirmed for Cain still applies today: “‘YES, YOU ARE!’ While we are not to judge our Christian brothers and sisters, because they answer to God and not to us (Romans 14:12), we are responsible for the way our conduct affects their lives.” Furthermore, we cannot unsee what we see or unknow what we know. We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend that reality is not happening around us. It is a Christian duty to respond with good, if nothing else, to pray, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:7) “We have all of us, especially those of us who are Christians, the power to do good to others. We have not all the same ability, for we have not all the same gifts, or the same position, but as the little maid that waited on Naaman’s wife had opportunity to tell of the prophet who could heal her master, so there is not a young Christian here but what has some power to do good to others…We have all some capacity for doing good.” Whether we hear it in passing or witness something with our own eyes, let us stop what we are doing and, if we cannot do anything else, pray, pray, pray. GiGi❤️ “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7)
Brene Brown revised the idea that a healthy position to take in our interaction with others is to believe that, perhaps, they are doing their best. Assuming that everyone is doing their best relieves us of the burden of harsh judgment and unforgiveness. H. Collins, a blogger, wrote: “To assume the best about people and assume that, at any given moment they’re just doing the best they can, would require a vulnerability and humility that often exceeds my capacity. It would require me to actually get to know people, to let them in and hear them out, to sit under the weight of their story, or simply to get out from underneath the weight of my own. Honestly, my assumptions about other people start with my assumptions about myself. Really it’s more of an internal problem than an external one. I see the worst in other people because I’m constantly hashing out the worst things about myself. I’m not generous with others because I don’t have the grace or the patience to first be generous with myself. At any given moment I’m on the hunt for my biggest flaws and most blatant failures so I can minimize my insecurities and maximize my likability.” Just a little bit of kindness, driven by love, can possibly lead someone to Christ, could possibly be the blessing they were praying for, or the light they sought in their darkness. Ian Maclaren is quoted as saying, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Let us move over and make room for others. Perhaps, they are doing the best they can. GiGi❤️ A Tortoise was very sad because he wanted to see the world but it would take an eternity with his little short legs. He shared his sadness with a pair of Ducks. “We can help you see the world,” said the Ducks. “Take hold of this stick with your teeth and we will carry you far up in the air where you can see the whole countryside. But keep quiet or you will be sorry.” The Tortoise was so excited and happy to finally get to see the world. He bit down on the stick firmly and each of the Ducks took an end and up they flew toward the clouds. The Tortoise, with big eyes, was astonished and awed by what he saw. Suddenly a Crow flew by and cawed, “”This must surely be the King of Tortoises!” The Tortoise forgot the instructions not to speak and exclaimed, “Why certainly…” All of a sudden the little Tortoise fell from the sky into a small lake below. He was doing well but lost focus.
There is an old saying, that silence is golden. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Words well spoken are silver, but silence is golden...” In essence, learning to read the room and mood is important. Sometimes, it is best to be silent or not respond, because not everything needs a response. Silence can bring calm into a situation. That powerful pause that we use before we respond allows us to recognize that it’s not about us in that moment. It is not to deny or suppress how we feel, but recognize the power of silence that can change the direction of the conversation. “I think it is well, too, when a poor sin-burdened soul is silent before God, and unable to make any bold speeches. It would have been well if Peter had been silent when he said, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Matthew 26:33, ESV). It is good that a man is a good speaker, but it is better to know when to speak and when not to.” Charles Spurgeon Silence is Restraint! GiGi❤️ Jesus emphasizes the importance of “forgiving those who trespass against us” by mentioning it twice. Once in Matthew 6:14-15: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.”
He mentions it again in the Parable of the Merciless Servant, in Matthew 18:21-35. When Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?” He answers, “Up to seventy-seven times.” Nothing illustrates hard-hearted unforgiveness like the man who was forgiven of a debt to the king of ten thousand bags of gold. When the king learned that he was unable to pay, he ordered the man, along with his family to be sold as payment for his debt. The servant begged the king for his patience. The king reconsiders and cancels the whole debt. Yet, later that same man grabs a fellow servant who owes him one hundred silver coins and demands repayment. His fellow servant begs him for patience as the man had begged the king. The man was unrelenting and refused. He has his fellow servant imprisoned until he repays him all that he owes. Forgiveness is not an emotional response; it is intentional. Forgiveness is accepting what happened, processing the hurt, pain, anger and disappointment with self-compassion, and releasing the “righteous anger in response to the injustice,” to God. It’s an act of compassion, compassion toward ourselves and toward the offender, just as the king showed compassion toward the servant. Forgive those who have hurt us as we have been forgiven. GiGi❤️ |
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