Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – March 15, 2019
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Matthew 11:14
Hard words, hard people, and hard situations are hard to accept. Do you or someone you know feel like you are between a rock and a hard place? Do your options seem like they have dried up? Is your energy to press forward depleted? Perhaps it is time to accept the cold, hard facts of where you find yourself. Reality has a way of catching up with our denial.
It is okay to be optimistic, but not to the peril of ignoring your predicament. Are emotional reactions driving your decisions, or do you prayerfully process the facts clearly and objectively with wise input from others you trust? Do you need to give up something—your house, your car, your career, your travel, or your expectations? What is the Lord asking you to give up so that you can gain Him and His peace? Acceptance requires action.
Furthermore, there are people who require additional patience and grace to accept. Have others wronged you to the point that your resentment is blocking your acceptance of them? You may justify your rejection of them because of their rejection of you. For example, children and parents can let us down and even devastate us, but Christians do not have the option of not accepting them for who they are. Love accepts even unworthy recipients.
“Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters” (Romans 14:1).
Do you find yourself in a situation where you do not feel accepted—a new job, in-laws, a new school, a new city, a new relationship? You can stew in self-pity, or you can take the initiative to reach out to your rejecters. Kindness reaches out and rejects rejection. “A man who has friends must himself be friendly” (Proverbs 18:24 nkjv).
Above all, are you willing to accept God’s call on your life? When His will is uncomfortable and uncertain, will you still go there in trust? Start by accepting Christ by faith as your Savior and Lord, and then continue to accept His commands as evidence that you are His disciple. Acceptance of the Lord allows you to love Him and other people. Acceptance cannot continue alone but is accelerated and accompanied by the Almighty’s grace and love.
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I praise you for your 100% acceptance of me in spite of my imperfections, in Jesus name, amen.
Application
Do I wholeheartedly accept God’s plan for my life? Whom do I need to accept in love?
Related Reading
Genesis 4:7; Ecclesiastes 5:19; Romans 11:15; 1 Timothy 1:15
Taken from Boyd’s 365 day devotional book Seeking Daily the Heart of God v.2
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Kindness reaches out and rejects rejection. #wisdomhunters #accept
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