One minute read.
Daily Reading: 1 Chronicles 19:1-21:30, Romans 2:25-3:8, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 19:10-12
Daily Verse: “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” Prov. 19:11
Nature of patience.
Overlooking offenses takes work. When someone wounds us, letting it go means making a conscious decision not to demand payment, pray for that person and ask God to bless them. Wisdom leads the way in not taking offense.
“Take no offense” is my three-word prayer for when I feel the sting of someone else’s actions. “You don’t know what’s going on in their life. Hurting people hurt people.” My inner dialogue to let go of offenses continues. Coaching myself helps me overlook offenses.
Wisdom yields patience by helping us control our emotions and not responding immediately to the offense. Instead of striking back, wisdom takes the time to pray and seek Godly direction before responding. Including God in the conversation always leads to a different outcome than our fleshly desires. Lord’s insight guides us to patient wisdom.
Without offense, we can’t practice God’s grace. Doing something repeatedly helps us become better at it. As long as we live on Earth, we will encounter offenses, but we can choose how we respond. Let Godly wisdom lead the way.
Lord, forgive our rash responses. Help us overlook offenses with patient wisdom. Give us an extra measure of grace for those who cause us pain. Let us become more like Jesus as we practice responding like Him. IJNIP. Amen
