In a world that we live in today, we’re so busy that we move in such a fast pace, and we end up filling up our days with so many things — everything from work and even to social media. None of these are bad but sometimes we tend to focus on what we believe especially the big things and forget about what is simple.
The passage reveals to us that GOD wants us to just the simple things:
✨ To treat people justly and fair.
✨ To walk in love, mercy, and kindness.
✨ and to walk humbly with GOD
As someone working in a call center and supervising a team, I find it really challenging to apply all of these. The piled up responsibilities, the stress and not to mention the unending tasks seem to be so overwhelming. If you have been following this blog, you pretty much know how I truly value the purpose that God has assigned me to and that’s one of the biggest reason why I stayed despite the hardships. However, with a the struggles faced I find myself trapped and burned out. Aside from that, I honestly feel unsupported especially from the church where I belong to. It’s sad to admit but it happened. With all of these in mind, I became ungrateful and just barely focusing on the external rather than the basic deeper things Lord has commanded — most specifically to LOVE no matter what. I took the ministry so seriously that I lost the joy to serve. I focused on finishing each goal at hand that it became an ordinary thing and it no longer spark joy deep inside. I wish I could just end all of these and start anew but I am already in the middle of the race, no turning back.
In order for me to achieve the simple things, I needed to unlearn the great things. In order for me to do what’s right, I needed the time to realign myself from the source of righteousness. In order for me to love others and show them compassion, mercy and kindness, I needed to fill up myself with God’s love. I needed to free myself from guilt and learn to forgive AGAIN. It’s tough. It’s easier said than done. In order to walk humbly with GOD, I needed to empty myself, understand that all that I have comes from him and apart from him I am nothing. Every time I think about that, it humbles me.
I am not sure how far this post will reach but I am writing this for people like me who are earnestly trusting and obeying the LORD with His purposes and plans — not to quit! People may not read this, there may be lack of appreciation of what you are doing but do not stop for He will not desert you and He for sure will be there at the end.
And here are the things I learned from the passage.
- DO WHAT’S RIGHT. Not what is easy. Not what is popular. I learned that it’s okay to pause, take a breath, and ask the Holy spirit of what your next move is. Doing what’s right may mean you actually have an honest empathetic conversation with someone you disagree with —but not to change their mind but to hear their perspective. This may mean postponing the conversation to a later date or time, or adjourning to a less public place. This means sticking up to your principles but never at the expense of hurting people.
- LOVE MERCY. This looks like extending grace to someone else, even if you don’t think they deserve it. In the call center, we normally check the quality of the work of each agent and review errors and most of the time it frustrates me especially if reminders and policies are in-place but still they fail to follow. But one thing that I also learned from our numerous coachings is to give them the benefit of the doubt, assuming that they didn’t mean to commit errors. In handling personal conflicts, it also assuming that they did not mean to be hurtful with their comments or opinions. I encounter this a lot in my team. If not from the agents, it’s from my co-managers and supervisors. When you give them the benefit of the doubt, you are actually showing them real empathy and compassion and overlooking any offenses for the sake of restoration in your relationship or stronger team at work. It’s also helpful to think before you act — pause and think what could have Jesus done if he is in your shoe. After all, we are all sinners. We also failed and yet GOD continues to forgive and show us mercy.
- WALK HUMBLY. Humility may not always fix our problems but it makes sure you’re not the problem. If you are, man you are in trouble. Haha. When we assume we don’t have all the answers, we have a much better chance of learning something new and keeping our relationships. Jesus often used questions during His ministry, because being curious invites conversation, whereas bringing all of the answers tends to shut it down. We all have a lot of opinion. But it’s a lot more effective to bring people our love rather than what we know. As the quote say, “people don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” It’s best to share our knowledge with love.
My prayer:
God, my Father , when divisive conversations come up, please give me your attitude. Help me love like you in every situation. Help me seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with You. Show me how to express my love more than my counterstatements and opinions, and give me yhe right words in every conversation in my day-to-day. Also, renew my spirit so I may serve you faithfully and joyfully forever. In Jesus name, amen.
Simply Forever Grateful,
Charmaine
Forever grateful 