Parker Inspirations

Every day there are new challenges that knock me down. With the Lord’s help I get back up. Most days I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (Rom.7:15-25) Rom.7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

No matter how much I desire to try to be more like Christ, I fall short. The Lord shows me mercy Prov. 86:5 “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” So if the Lord can show me mercy I should also show mercy to others. We are all sinners, no one is perfect. We hold others to a higher standard than what we ourselves are living. I cannot help others until I look at my own life. I have to trust that God is more powerful that I am and go to him in prayer believing he will make everything right.

My heart is heavy. I don’t know that I have ever experienced anything like this in my life. I seem to sleep less and pray more than ever through this journey. I wake up praying for the circumstances that surround me. The scripture that comes in my life each day, fits perfect to take each step. Today the word that came to me was mercy, so I looked up verses on mercy.  I used one of them above. The last verse I wrote in my journal was Psalm 145:8 “The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.” That is what I desire, to be gracious, full of compassion, slow to anger and have mercy. The Lord gives that to me, so I should do that for others.

If someone in my life is doing wrong, I need to tell them they are wrong. But if I don’t do it with mercy and compassion it doesn’t always help them to do right. I find that instead of helping them, they become resentful and they get farther from God. I can’t go to someone in anger and tell them they are wrong. I need to go to them in Love and prayer and let them know that I am there to help not condemn. Prayer and Love are more powerful than my words. I do not want to make God’s power slack, by saying nothing will change. With God all things are possible.

I don’t like confrontation with people. When it comes to talking to others about a situation I don’t feel that I can say anything because I am just a sinner myself. Again, I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. How can I help someone else, when I am struggling to do right? I don’t take pleasure in telling someone that they are wrong. Yes, it is important to help them to not go the wrong way, but it needs to be done a certain way. When you go in with guns blazing, just like a child, they close their ears and the effort was wasted. I want to help in a way that they know that I am not their judge.

When my children were growing up I tried very hard to not correct them out of anger. I wanted my children to know that their behavior was wrong and at the same time know that I love them and I want them to do right. When we were done I wanted them to know they did wrong, know that the Lord was not please, know that the Lord will forgive them and forget it, know that I forgive them and forget it, and know that the situation was over. I hate when things are brought up over and over again. The phrase I hate the most is “You always”. That phrase indicates that at this moment I am doing whatever it is that is being corrected. No one is ever doing the same thing “always”. It also indicates that it is not forgotten.