I just read my devotional email I get each day and for some reason, felt compelled to post it here for you all to read as well. I hope this is an encouraging message and if it was meant for even one person to read and feel inspired by, then it was worth posting. 🙂

March 20-21
The Trustworthy Character of God
2 Samuel 7:21-22

Whom do you trust? These days, it's not easy to find many people who are true to their word. At some point, we all learn the hard way that anyone other than almighty God can disappoint us. Let's look at the Lord's character to discover why He can be trusted.

First, He is the one true God. Back in Old Testament times, it was common for people to actually carve and worship a false god. Today, it is more typical to idolize something unseen, such as wealth, power, fame, or relationships. These can consume our passion, money, and time—and in the end leave us fruitless and empty. Jehovah, on the other hand, is alive and real, ready to be intimately involved in our lives.

Second, God is truth, and He is always faithful (John 14:6; 1 Cor. 10:13). Unlike sinful man, the Lord is trustworthy—and everything that He says will happen comes to pass. Our sovereign God has all power and is in control of every situation.

Third, Christ loves us unconditionally. How can we ever doubt His love when He willingly gave His life in our place? And His love is based not on our behavior or status, but rather on His character alone.

Fourth, the heavenly Father is unchanging. All of the above are timeless attributes that will forever be true.

God can be trusted. So don't give Him just the easy concerns; rely upon your Creator for everything. He desires a personal relationship with His beloved and is able to guide each believer through life victoriously. In a changing, suspicious world, you have a Friend who is 100 percent reliable.

Welcome to the new edition of my "GoodLife Sunday" posts! 🙂 I realized it's hard for me to do them over the weekend, and plus the lessons faith can teach us pop up all the time, not just on Sundays 😉 Before I begin, please remember that GoodLife posts and lessons are not meant to be preachy. I hope to share things I have learned through my own journey with Christ as well as discussions that weighed on my heart from the Sunday class I lead or sermons I attend or even songs I hear. I think there is something for all of us to take away from these posts, no matter our beliefs, so I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy sharing them. 🙂

That leads us to today. This afternoon, I went to the park to meet up with a friend. The weather was gorgeous - sunny and in the 70s. There was lots to talk about with my friend and the opportunity to see Makenzie having all sorts of fun playing in the park. Now, this situation would not always have been so enjoyable. Why? Mainly because a few years ago I would not have chosen to spend time just the two of us if I could avoid it. I was hesitant to grow a friendship with her then solely because of some of her more abrasive qualities - she likes to gossip about other friends, perhaps enjoys creating drama, will hold a grudge, and can be manipulative to have things work out best for her. Today I realized that yesterday's sermon applied to my relationship with her and how thankful I am to be able to know God's love and experience it in my own heart.

The youth pastor led our sermon yesterday in church, discussing a missions trip he had recently taken where he encountered a pretty unlovable little girl upon first impressions. She was dirty, rude, smelled very badly, would not follow directions, impulsive, exhausting, and the list went on. He thought of her as "Ratty Girl".

Maybe not ratty...but definitely unlovable

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He then went on to describe how she was so "bad" that she took up all of his energy in trying to keep her out of trouble and that he approached it very negatively...until a fellow pastor praised him for showing love and spending time with one of the children that needed to be shown affection and cared for the most. Ouch! That probably hurt the conscience a bit.

Well instead of feeling guilty or continuing in his negative mood, he chose to take a lesson from it. That there are people in our lives - friends, family members, coworkers, roommates, or maybe fellow bloggers even, that can rub us the wrong way.

sandpaper

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It is easier to dislike them or avoid them than to reach out and embrace them with the love of God. We are meant to be God with skin on and none of us are perfect. Not a single one. We ALL have qualities that we are not proud of or perhaps we are even unaware of that are not too good. What are we to do? Look past the negative and focus on the positive in others. Treat others the way we want to be treated. Love our neighbor as ourself. That doesn't mean we have to condone something harmful in another person, but it does mean we are no one to judge and that we should share the love. And reaching out in love to them could maybe even lead to a friendship where you can enjoy a sunny day in the park. 😉