Failing

1 Corinthians 16:14 AMPC

Let everything you do be done in love (true love to God and man as inspired by God's love for us).

Oh boy! The Word of God hits home really hard!

The perfect among you can ignore this devotional, but today I'm dealing with my own recent unkind behaviour.

My poor nearest and dearest has been exposed to my irritability and intolerance.

I've used the physical pain I'm in, as an excuse, but really that pain has revealed my own lack of love.

Need I remind myself that: "Love is patient and kind"; "Love is not irritable or touchy" ... The words of 1 Corinthians 13 flag up in bold, technicolour glory, where I'm failing! "Love never fails"...

Ok, ok, Lord, I hear you...."H-E-L-P"!!

I find myself apologising for my behaviour again and again.

Somewhere here there's a lesson to be learned.

Certainly, in the book of Job, it's plain to see how physical suffering affects a person.

Eventually, even the best of folk cave into moaning!

That's reassuring, but it won't do.

Thankfully, there is a Psalm I return to again and again when I fail:

Psalm 103:13-14 AMPC

As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe]. [14] For He knows our frame, He [earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust.

If you, like me, are struggling with your failures, take heart from this Psalm too.

Prayer

Holy Spirit, my own love has run dry! Please help me cope when times are hard and pressure mounts. Grant me the love of Jesus to pour out on others and be an "overcomer"!