AFTERNOON DELIGHT!

(AFTERNOON DELIGHT! are inspirational message shared at 2 p.m. to help you get through the rest of your day. You can read them on Ms. Monroe’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/SuccessfulGrowth)

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (AMP)

The world is not always a good place to be. Wars, racial violence, sex trafficking, child abuse, road rage, rampant profanity, pornography, widespread compromise and deceit, mistrust and pervasive fear surround us. Some of us face these things in our home. How do we not snap back and curse someone who is rude to us? How do we walk away from gossip? How do we not join the “group think” that, depending on the situation, compromise and lies are okay? How do we Christians not get pulled into all this worldly turmoil? We choose not to.

The Word says we are spirit, soul and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God has not deposited timidity in our spirit. So when it comes to choosing between things of man and things of God, we can fearlessly chose God (Psalm 118: 6). As Christians, we must not be afraid of dissociating ourselves from the “group think” of the world and display the traits of God (Galatians 5:22-23). God has given us the ability to control ourselves. It’s not always easy or our first inclination. But if we choose to take a moment before reacting…just a moment…we can exercise our God-given self-control.