2 Timothy 1:7

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

I am a very shy person, but being shy does not make me timid.  I stand up for that which I believe in, I love passionately for those in my life, and being disciplined, well, I'll just say I'm working on that one!  I feel like God is telling us in this scripture not to be scared of what's out there in the world.  This scripture is especially meaningful for those who are about to embark on a new adventure like a new school year, college, job changes, etc.  Our first instinct is often to be scared of the unknown, myself included.  It is hard to go into a new or uncomfortable situation but He implores us not to be timid, not to be scared.  He is with us always and He has given all of us a spirit of power, love and discipline.

Our faith is our rock and it will always hold us up no matter what storms comes our way.  Knowing that we cannot be knocked down, we cannot be broken, gives us power.  We have the power of Him behind us.  With Him we can.  I was going to write more but realized there's nothing more that needs to be said.  With Him we can.  You can finish the sentence with any struggle you are facing or attempting to overcome.  It's kind of like when you watch a movie with a superhero and you know that know matter what happens in the movie, no matter how bleak it looks for the superhero, he always overcomes in the end.  We are no different from the superhero.  Things may appear hopeless, it may seem like we are defeated, but do not be fooled.  He is our superpower and with Him we will overcome.

God gave us a spirit of love which sounds easier than it is at times.  It's easy to love those who love us back.  It's easy to love our children, parents, siblings, and spouses (most of the time at least!).  But what about the person who cuts you off on the highway, or the sales clerk who is rude to you, or the friend who spreads a rumor about you?  What about the stranger trying to attack your faith, or the one who questions your parenting choices?  It is easy to love when the love is returned and much harder when the love is deflected.  I struggle with this myself.  I have inherited the gift(?) of anger from my father and it is a "gift" I have to constantly try to resist.  The way I usually try to do this is to pray for whoever it is that I am angry with.  I try to pray for them, that God speaks to them in their life and for myself, that I can respond with love rather than anger.

God gave us the spirit of discipline and there are some things that are easier for me to have discipline in than others.  I am usually very good at keeping the house picked up and the laundry put away.  I clean the kitchen, do the dishes, and vacuum every day.  I am disciplined in keeping my children on a schedule and following through with teaching good behaviors.  I make sure to read about a saint each day, pray, read the scripture, etc.  But there are many areas of my life that I need to have much more discipline in.  We are a work in progress.  We will always be a work in progress but I know that God gave me the gift of discipline and with a conscious effort I can tap into that gift. 

Please God help me embrace the gifts of the spirit that you have so generously gifted to me.  Thank you for being my superpower! 

Thanks for reading!

Busy Mommy Blogger