Aug 27, 20204 min read

Things to Remember When Iniquity Abounds

Updated: Oct 10, 2020

I have been in healthcare since 2005; worked in hospitals and doctors' offices.....but working in primary care during this 'pandemic crisis' has been 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞. Let me tell ya. It has definitely tested the fruits of the spirit!

I read an article not too long ago that really touched me. I would like to share some comments and the article with you so that maybe it will in turn bless you! This article...I may just print it out and read it once a week. It holds some points that I intend to try harder to carry out at work.

The Bible is right when it said that when iniquity abounds the love of many will wax cold. But, 𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. I want to do better. I want to have more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. After all, those are the fruits of the spirit and evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life!

𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒: "𝐈𝐭 𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰." It's sensory and information overload for people.

Many of us knew these days were coming and we've warned and warned over the years. Now that we're here, and everything is falling right into place (it's not falling apart), I'm having some tough days myself. Not throwing a pity party here...just admitting I am not strong ALL the time and yep...I have days I'm not patient, loving, and understanding - and for that, forgive me! I'm working on it. When I am weak, He is strong. Anything good in me comes from Christ and His Holy Spirit. My flesh can kick rocks bc it sucks sometimes (a lot of times ).

Now. The article.

I'm going to pull some excerpts from the article that stood out to me; but I recommend the whole thing. It was so good and something I really needed to read.

Things to Remember When Iniquity Abounds

*More rules equals more rule breaking — and more opportunities for people to be upset no matter where you land on the COVID 19 debate.

*Whether you’re on the giving end or the receiving end of a smile, studies have shown that there are all kinds of mental and emotional benefits to smiling; it just makes life better. But now everyone’s mouths are covered, making voices harder to hear and details of body language more difficult to interpret.

*We’re all walking around with imaginary six-foot poles. Instead of looking at people as having feelings and stories of their own, we see potential disease carriers. It’s harder to have empathy for human beings when we are going to such great lengths to avoid them.

*As children of God, we can be affected by the same nasty situations and evil spirits that prey on the world. It’s up to us to recognize them and take authority in Jesus’ name. Like Ephesians 3:17 says, we must be rooted and grounded in love since we, ourselves, know the love of Christ Jesus. We do that by staying focused on Jesus and the good works He has prepared for us to walk in. We also must limit our exposure to negativity, instead filling our minds with what is good like it says in Philippians 4:8. Above all, we must study the Word of God every day, renewing our minds and endeavoring to conform our lives to what we find there.

*But how do we diffuse the fire ball inside us when things just make us so angry and situations simply aren’t fair? How can we continue to be kind when others are rude? How do we love people who are so maddening and unlovable? For me, the only thing that does it is to remember that I am not exactly a peach all the time myself. Despite my annoying, selfish, bad behavior, God always treats me with love. And that same God who IS love lives inside me. He gives me the power to love like He does if I will just turn away from my base instincts and believe what the Bible says. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. I am no longer in bondage to flesh and sin. I can choose to conform to Him instead of the world.

*God is love, and He is merciful and gracious. He is also coming back soon. We must keep our focus where it belongs: on our relationship with Him.