Tonight, I was waiting at a local pizza place for my order to get ready. I had ordered and paid online an hour previous and requested a 7PM pickup. We arrived at the restaurant at 7:10PM, so I figured our order would be sitting on the counter ready to go. Nevertheless, when I arrived, the workers looked flustered and my order was not ready. I was told it would be a few minutes, so I went and sat down. As I sat I wondered how long it would be before my husband came in to check on me because I had left my phone in the truck with him. We had company coming over at 7:30. Still, I sat, and I started to feel frustrated. I started talking to God and asking Him to help me stay kind and patient. Two things I wasn’t really feeling at that moment. And then suddenly I saw myself, I saw my feet and they were dripping with honey, and God said, “It’s important for you to keep learning to not let your outward circumstances affect your inner spirit.”
I know the above story may seem trivial, but isn’t it often those trivial instances where we really blow it and as a result sabotage any opportunity to witness to anyone around us at the time? How can we be trusted to be faithful with the big stuff, if we can’t even hold onto peace and kindness at a pizza place? Seriously, it really wasn’t that big a deal in the scheme of things. They were busy, and it may have thrown them that I requested a specific pickup time, although that’s always an option when you order online. There are a million factors that could have caused the delay. It really wasn’t worth my bad attitude and scowl.
Our circumstances are never an excuse to act poorly. Jesus, Himself was the best example of this. In the face of all kinds of evil and mistreatment and betrayal He never wavered. He was always kind.
This brings me back to the thought, we must learn how to not let our outward circumstances control who we are and how we behave. I have Christ in me, so I always want to look to Him before I respond to anything. What a privilege it is for those that believe! We get to carry Christ within us. That gives us such an advantage in our daily lives. We always have a Counselor inside. The only question is, are you listening to Him? Do you let the whirlwind that is life carry you away, or do you remain rooted in Love?
I challenge you today to take a hard look at the way you may be perceived by those who have contact with you in your day to day life. Would they have any idea that you carry Christ inside of you? Evaluate your behavior and be brutally honest with yourself. Are you kind at the grocery store? Are you encouraging to your family and those that you work with? Are you always speaking pessimistically or are you uplifting? It’s never too late to change the momentum of your day to day life. It does, however, take intentionality. I set out to be kind to the people I cross paths with throughout the day, and I know for a fact that it makes a difference. It’s also opened doors for me to begin to share some of my walk with Jesus with people who otherwise would never hear about Him. And you know what? It simply feels good to be nice to others. It lifts my spirits to see that I have caused someone to smile.
Love is the goal. I’m certainly not perfect in this, but love is my constant goal.
This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:5-9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
365 Days in the Presence 