Many are the plans in a man’s
heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails
Proverbs 19:21
This
is the sequel of my 9 fruits trilogy. I decided to chop it down into three parts
because discussing all of these 9 fruits would probably take me years and drain my poor
mind in an instant. Now let’s get this thing done, for I’m so excited to finish
this series. As an introduction, I cited three different people on this one.
First one’s yours truly, the second was my favorite Preacher, and the last was
the first Pastor I’ve met. They are with different fields and levels, but all posses
gifts coming from one Mighty Giver, The Holy Spirit.
Patience
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry. - Psalm
40:1
Patience is a virtue. If you
have patience, you will realize how important time really is. Actually this is
one gift that I’ve just discovered recently when I got closer to God. Again,
patience is not the act of waiting, but it is how you act while you wait. Then
I realized I have so many things to be patient with: His coming, the right
person for me, and my future, to name a few. Just last week, my friend, Rence,
and I met up to continue my one to one.
Before that, He said we’d meet up at around 3:30 PM at the Center. I arrived at
the Center earlier than expected, probably 15 minutes earlier, for I don’t want
him to think that I’m acting sort of like a VIP. He wasn’t there yet. At first,
I was like, “O.K., wait ka lang, papunta
na rin ‘yun. Masyado ka kasing maaga pa.” So I waited for more minutes
until I noticed it was already 4:00 PM. Then I giggled and said, “Lord, are you testing me?” After that,
I thought of doing something while waiting for his arrival. I was a kind of
hungry that time so I decided to find somewhere to eat and perhaps stay there
while waiting for Rence. Luckily, there was a bakeshop downstairs and I ate
siopao while waiting. Minutes passed, I noticed it was already 5:00 PM and he’s
not yet there. One of the service crew’s already cleaning up my table, LOL; But
still… I waited. After hours of waiting, he finally came and said sorry for he
had some things to finish at work. What a relief! For the record, that was
almost 2 hours of patiently waiting. What’s funny was I never got irritated
waiting. Maybe it was because of my desire to continue my one to one so badly. God waited for that moment when I surrendered
myself to Him. Almost 20 years of waiting for me to come back to His arms.
There is no doubt that I will do the same for Him. I will forever be patient in
Him.
Kindness
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
- Acts
20:35b
A
friend told me the difference between kindness and goodness. I thought they
were the same, but they’re not. The way she understands it, kindness is the way
you treat others; if you’re polite, respectful, or helpful. It has something to
do with others. On the other hand, goodness pertains to your soul; somewhat
like your obedience to God; righteousness per se. I received a beautiful quote
from a friend that says:
“We won’t always know who we
inspire with our words… or who gets encouraged when we smile… or who’s
strengthened by our presence. But let us keep doing them anyway; for we won’t
always know it but sometimes we deliver a SLICE of HEAVEN to someone’s life.”
It is true. Never waste any
opportunity to do good to others. Kindness makes a huge difference. Joyce Meyer
has been challenging every people to make a commitment before God to do at
least one thing, everyday, for somebody else. One day she felt like God wants her
to pay for a lady’s earrings. She has no idea who that lady was. She even
thought that the lady might think she’s crazy for doing such thing.
Nevertheless, she got a 50 dollar bill in her hand and said, “Listen, I’m a
Christian, and I just felt like that God wanted you to be blessed with. He
wants you to know that He loves you, so this is to pay for your earrings.” Months
later, that lady actually was with somebody who knew Joyce was and watched her
on TV. And this lady had a neighbor who has been telling bad things about Joyce
Meyer. Then the lady said, “Oh no, she’s for real. Let me tell what she did.”
Then she told the story of Joyce paying for her earrings, and eventually that
guy started watching Joyce Meyer’s ministries and ended up getting saved. Our
simple kindness can even lead to their salvation. We can do good things in many
simple ways. Honestly, I believe this is the easiest thing to have of all the 9
gifts. I have been challenged by Joyce Meyer, and now I challenge you. Would
you sincerely do at least one thing for somebody else everyday?
Goodness
Good and upright is the LORD:
therefore will he teach sinners in the way. - Psalms 25:8
I attended last Sunday’s worship service
and it was about the Goodness of God, Part 2 of the series Awestruck – the Greatness and
Goodness of God. It said that the source of everything is God, and
everything changes except for God. That is why we have to just trust Him in
three things – in His words, His promises, and His plans and purposes. Always remember that God is good all the
time. This goodness is just like righteousness. And by trusting in these three
things will certainly lead you to the path of righteousness. If you can obey
the 10 Commandments of the Lord, then
you can consider yourself a good person. Pastor Rommel is probably my best
example on this one. Aside from the fact that he is a Pastor, I can see that he does everything God wants him to do. He
obeys every command, and trusts in Him completely. Can you imagine devoting
your whole life and family to the Church and fulfilling what has been tasked
for you to do – Honoring God and Making Disciples? That is not as easy as it seems. Since I met him, I learned so
many things about life and God. Every insight or experience that he shares
gives me this delight that God really is so good. If goodness is a disease, it
is contagious; and it is the only thing that I am willing to be infected with.
I hope you enjoyed
reading this one. It’s kind of long though, but I couldn’t think of any way to
make it short, yet beautiful. I want this to be special, for it is God’s gifts
that I am talking about. I hope you have been enthused enough by this one to
wait for my next post about faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – the last
installment of my trilogy. LOL. Until next time, I have to dress up now and get
ready for my small group later. God is with you. Stay safe!
Testimony: Patience is a test of Faith.
Life Lesson: Cherish every God-given gift that you have.
Godly Passion: Goodness is contagious.
Good News: Honor God, Make Disciples.
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