“I have seen what they do, but I will heal them anyway! I will lead them. I will comfort those who mourn, bring words of praise to their lips. May they have abundant peace, both near and far,” says the Lord, who heals them. – Isaiah 57: 18
One of my favorite poems was written by the late great Mother Teresa, and it’s called “Do It Anyway.”
In it, she says:
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway...
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway...
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway…
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway…
And Mother Teresa never lied. That’s us to a T!
We judge people when we don’t have the right to. We hold grudges. We don’t treat others the way we want to be treated. We backbite. We’re arrogant. We don’t practice what we preach.
But in the midst of our tom-foolery, God forgives us anyway.
He’s good and kind to us anyway.
He heals and restores us anyway.
And His mercy lasts forever.
So when folks vex us, peeve us, annoy us, attack us, or hurt us, we should remember Mother Teresa’s words and give them grace anyway.
Because while we’re sinners and will never be righteous on our own volition, God loves us anyway.
And in His final analysis of our lives, He will judge us according to how much effort we put into aligning our actions with His character.
Be blessed,
Alexia
Prayer: God, when I feel hurt, agitated, or betrayed by people in my life, please fill me with your Holy Spirit and give me the strength to love and forgive them anyway. Cleanse my heart so I can be more like you everyday. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen.
Amen. I am so thankful for God’s love. We don’t deserve it, but I’m grateful to be a recipient of it. Often times we don’t give others the grace that God gives us, that’s because His love is so great that we can’t even wrap our minds around it. I pray that He would make us more and more like Him every day.