Failed Fight?

The day didn’t go as I had hoped. As the mediator of a conflict, the two parties didn’t see eye to eye. At the end of the meeting one even said, “It’s not going to change.”

In another relationship I have, a woman has experienced more than her share of emotional highs and lows, always knowing when she’s doing wrong but not desiring to do right. “I don’t want to stop,” she said.

Another who sought my help to help her get disciplined rarely completed the assignments I gave her, often saying “I didn’t have time to do it.”

In each of these instances I was disappointed but I recognized that I wanted more for these three ladies than they wanted for themselves. With that I knew I couldn’t do any more directly unless they decided to want a change or the Holy Spirit unveiled their blinded eyes (2 Peter 1:9, John 12:40). Knowing that God can use me but the Holy Spirit is the arbiter of their souls brings me comfort, keeps me focused and prevents me from shunning the next person with a seemingly larger than life issue. When I have suffered long and given my best I leave the rest up to God.

How do you respond to people you’re trying to help whose actions say they don’t want your help? Do you suffer long or tend to toss them at their first sign of resignation? Please, tell me what you think.

Satisfying God

Light a candle for the Holy Spirit, let His figure be the one invited person we’d hope would come, show up to cover us with His presence, illuminate our lives, giving direction, showing where we need correction and peace. We need Him here, always, stroking our lives, making us whole and holding us captive with great fear, an awe of His presence, His likeness, His coming near to us, helping us. He’s the Helper, if we let Him. He’s our guide, if we choose not to do this on our own. He’s our shield, protecting us from us and others. He’s Lord, leading us down righteous pathways, the place we belong.

He’s calling us, in whispered songs and we hear the melody floating above our heads, in our heads. We long for and like the words, but they are too simplistic to us. We want better, want more than what He sings. We bring our requests through ignoring the songs, refusing to sing the lyrics, hum the tunes in our hearts. Our dark, dry souls can’t see and are thirsty. Our candle is quenched, and we have snuffed our sight. We are not satisfied satisfying God.

This is His request: Be satisfied satisfying Me. This is the great challenge of my too often discontented soul, the strong black woman one who always wants more and so little of that has to do with God. I yearn through faithfulness and obedience, putting the spiritual above the physical, to be satisfied by satisfying God. Yearn with me. Joy with me in bringing joy to God.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith