When Love is Hard

When we think about love, we often associate it with so many good things, wonderful memories, how someone made us feel, who we love, etc. But love in the Kingdom doesn't always feel good, nor is it always a cute kind of love.

When we ask God to help us to walk in love, He will most certainly do that, but it isn't always going to be in the way we imagine. Sometimes the love walk is just hard and strenuous and draining. Love itself is patient and kind, as I Corinthians 13:4 tells us, and training ourselves in the Word and the love of God is the way we continue the journey of showing love when it's hard. Being kind to people who aren't kind to you is not easy, but God is teaching us through that circumstance how to press in prayer to be able to show forth the Kingdom characteristics that are in us - all for the glory of God.

So, be mindful to allow the Lord to use you in the way He chooses to show love through you. As I'm reminded for myself also, ask Him for the grace to showcase His love to others when it's hard to do. Ask Him how to walk in love towards those who make it hard to even know how to do it. He will provide the wisdom that it takes to endure and see the results that perseverance in love will provide.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord, help us to walk in love, even when it's hard. We need to know how to persevere in love towards those who mistreat us. Help us not to allow pride to control our emotions or our actions. We need the Holy Spirit to take control and guide us through the hard places, Lord. We thank you for your divine wisdom to encounter us because you tell us that "the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise wins souls (Proverbs 11:30).