Guard gentleness

But God’s gentleness is rooted in power June 2, 2025

Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Matthew 11:29 Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart.

John 13:3-5 Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. …

I love seeing strong people treat others gently. Don’t you? For me, this exhibits true strength, the emotional security that allows them to respect, care for and protect others, rather than indulge a need to show off how powerful they are. It tells me they have experienced and embraced the healing of agape in their own hearts.

Over time, “meekness,” the word the KJV uses to describe this aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, has come to represent weakness rather than strength. But praos (or praus), is rooted in strength and is a fruit of power: the ability to choose a humble position in order to bless others. Praos is the gentleness we see so clearly in Jesus’ life and teachings.

Jesus chose to give up his divine privileges and took the humble position of a slave (Philippians 2:6). “He could have called ten thousand angels,” as the old song says, to free him from the suffering of the cross. He “did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered” (1 Peter 2:23). He had the courage to live in poverty, to touch a leper, to defend women, to elevate children, to enjoy the company of “sinners,” to break all kinds of cultural taboos in order to show us what God’s love is like. His gentleness can still melt our defensiveness today.

“The greatest among you must be a servant,” Jesus taught (Matthew 23:11). In his upside-down Kingdom, authority must be used in humility rather than flaunting one’s power over others (Matthew 20:25-27). “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).

Holy Spirit, please help us to learn from Jesus to use the power of gentleness within agape to bless others as he did. Guard and heal our hearts from the insecurity that generates pride. Generate in us the humble strength that comes from knowing ourselves beloved, our own needs tenderly cared for.

Jesus understands what praos sometimes costs us. “By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls” (1 Peter 2:21-25).

Shepherd of my Heart, Sandi Patty

And vice versa

But God’s joy is our strength

Nehemiah 8:10 The joy of the Lord is your strength.

Two weeks ago, Dave and I were in Pereira, Colombia (coffee-growing country) speaking at the first Latin American REVER Congress (people came from fourteen countries!).

Dave and I are in there somewhere!

The theme was “Restoring Joy in Difficult Times.” For some reason, the organizers thought Dave and I might have something to say about that topic. They assigned us five 90-minute talks. I also had two two-hour workshops and Dave had two 90-minute sessions with pastors. All in two days!

Our five sessions were “Finding Jesus in the Storm,” based on John 6:16-21, “Restoring Joy in My Difficult Times” (Dave talked about what helped him through his five major depressions), “Finding Joy in Chronic Suffering” (using Karis’s experience as a case study), “Discovering Joy in Marriage and Ministry” (this one was the most challenging for Dave and me to do together—but our intense preparation paid off!), and “Celebrating Joy in the Church in Difficult Times” (Dave’s final address).

For the Chronic Suffering talk, I highlighted five Scriptures that anchored Karis and me through her thirty years. Here’s a story I told in connection with Nehemiah 8:10:

I often heard Karis humming a song, “The Joy of the Lord Is My Strength.” When she sang it, she often inverted the words as well, “The strength of the Lord is my joy.”

“It’s impossible for me to muster enough strength to cope with my situation,” Karis told me. “Admitting this allows me to rest in the strength of the Lord. It relieves me of a lot of stress, not having to be strong myself. I’ve given up trying harder. Instead, I relax into God’s power.”

Friends often visited Karis in the hospital or at home to encourage her. I noticed a pattern: within a minute or two, Karis would redirect the conversation to her visitor’s concerns and would end up praying for them.

One day a friend visiting Karis at home exclaimed, “Karis, explain to me how you manage to deal with your situation.”

“My situation?” asked Karis.

“Yes, all of this.” The friend made a sweeping gesture that encompassed Karis’s TPN pump and IV pole and oxygen that tethered her, the hospital bed, commode, dressings, ostomy supplies, rows of meds, etc. “How can you smile and avoid bitterness when you suffer so much?

“We are the same, you and me,” Karis told her. “You just told me about the problems you face in your life. Your problems are too big for you, and mine are too big for me. We’re both forced to depend on God’s strength and wisdom.”

“True, but… your problems seem much more serious than mine,” the friend replied.

“Well, since both your problems and my problems are greater than our strength, there’s no point in comparing them. What matters is our dependence on the Lord.”

“For example…”

“For example, today when I woke up, before I opened my eyes, I said to God, ‘Ah, Lord, how I wanted to wake up today in Heaven with you. But here I am … You know, Lord, that I do not have the strength to endure this day. So, for whatever reason you still want me here, you have to live this day for me. I absolutely depend on your grace covering my weakness.’ And here we are, you and I, sharing those precious moments together, celebrating the strength and joy of the Lord.”

I witnessed conversations like this many, many times. The joy of the Lord was Karis’s strength. And the strength of the Lord was her deepest joy.

After her death, this friend told me, “Each time I want to complain about what I have on my plate, I think of Karis. God’s strength was big enough for her. It is surely big enough for me, too.”

For you and me also.

Joy of the Lord by Rend Collective

Crunch time

But God’s grace gives us strength

Hebrews 13:9 Your strength comes from God’s grace.

Psalm 23:4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.

The image I chose for “Ordinary Time” is a father holding his child’s hand. It speaks to me of security, love, and strength.

Shutterstock: Vyestekimages

This day in “Ordinary Time” is a crunch day for Dave and me as we prepare to fly to Colombia early Wednesday for the first Latin American REVER Congress. (REVER stands for “to take another look,” a fitting acronym for emotional restoration ministry.) The theme of the congress is “Finding Joy in Difficult Times.”

This special event is drawing participants from across Latin America. Dave and I, as the “grandparents” of REVER, which we started in Brazil in 1996, will be speaking for 15 hours Friday and Saturday. Luciene, international director of REVER, has the opening plenary Thursday evening. (For those who prayed Lu through her terrible accident almost a year ago: I learned yesterday that she’s walking short distances now without a cane!)

I don’t expect to post this Thursday. By the time we get home next week, I hope my Inbox will be full of your “But God” stories—a feast of rejoicing in God’s work in your lives! I promise: YOU will be the one who benefits most, as you remember and tell and find yourself encouraged by what God has done for you, your hand in His.

This song says it all.

God of Every Grace, Keith and Kristyn Getty, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa

A new grip

But God’s discipline is good for us April 22, 2024

Hebrews 12:10-13 Our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us … there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

I’m writing to you from the beautiful mountains of Colorado, where the new life of spring looks a bit different from Pennsylvania.

My takeaway today from thinking about this passage from Hebrews? God’s discipline is not just for my personal growth, but even more, for those around me. My right living can open a pathway of peace and strengthening for others. And so can yours.

It’s not just about “me”—it’s about us. We’re all influencing each other.

Sometimes I’m the weak and lame one who needs extra support.

And sometimes, because God gives me the extra infusion of perspective I need in order to keep hanging on when things are tough, other people can say, as many told me after Karis died, “If she could find grace to not give up, with all she had to deal with, I can too, with what I face.”

Sometimes, when I “strengthen my weak knees” through prayer and worship, the Holy Spirit can transform my pity party, as Karis called any kind of griping, into the ability to shift my focus away from myself to listen, understand, and pray for others.

This idea of “new grip” reminds me of a Notre Dame football story. Karis innocently sat at the football players’ table in the dining hall while they were all getting their food. The team “adopted” her, and she helped tutor some of them so they could stay academically qualified. One Saturday morning she was still in her PJs when she heard a knock on her dorm room door. One of the football players filled the doorway.

“Karis, hurry and get dressed. We’re playing touch football and I want you on my team. I promise, I won’t let you get hurt. I’ll wait for you in the common room.”

This is a funny story for so many reasons. Little Karis, who didn’t even understand the rules (that’s another story!) playing in any meaningful way against massive opponents? Without getting hurt?

What the football player did during play was hand Karis the ball, tell her “Hold it tight,” pick her up, and race for the touchdown.

I think you can tell where I’m going with this. Karis had only one task: hang on to the ball. The rest was all about trust.

We’re all team players, in some way influencing the outcome of the game we’re playing. The “ball” God is asking me to hold on to has everything to do with trust in his game plan and in the other players. I don’t even fully understand the rules, and the opponents I face are way too big for me. My part? Strengthen my grip and trust him to carry me.

Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace), Hillsong

Advent ABC: Deliverer

2 Timothy 4:16-18 (Isaiah 51:1-3) The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength … and he rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and bring me safely into his heavenly Kingdom.

What deliverance do you need today? Take it to the Lord. He stands with you.

I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

From “St Patrick’s Breastplate”

My Deliverer, Rich Mullins