Even if… God is Kind
The spoken words, “you have cancer” caused me to shake and tremble with fear. It turns out kindness was the antidote that brought me back to a calm sense of love and stable mind. A single moment of kindness changed the trajectory of my life. The power of kindness made me feel whole, complete, accepted and pierced my fearful heart. I cried out to God in the midst of my trembling and asked Him to give me comfort and assurance during the most frightful time of my life. I discovered that God is always eager to be known and He will pull the veil of blindness down anytime we want to know Him more. He showed me in 3D, His powerful attribute of Kindness that is written about in Galatians chapter 5, The Fruit of the Spirit.
I had often been curious about the power of God’s Kingdom that I had heard about so often in church. For me power was: brute strength, outwitting your opponent and competitively becoming more successful than anyone else. That was power! I read God’s Word and was confounded over and over again how the simple teachings of Jesus turned my thinking inside out and upside down. I was to pray for my enemy? Turn the other cheek? Don’t retaliate? Be last? How would I ever survive this life without being overwhelmed and taken advantage of if I followed these teachings? Where was the power of God’s Kingdom that was spoken about, that I could rely on? Within an earshot of the deathly words spoken about my disease, I instantly felt all of my self-sufficient power leave. I was tapped out and at the end of my control… my ability. There was nothing I alone could do to make this nightmare go away.
Left with only trembling I realized that I really didn’t know God as much as I thought I did. My own self-sufficiency prevented me from experiencing the power of God that I was looking for. Desperately, I asked Jesus to come to me, comfort me and reveal himself to me- show me the power of God’s Kingdom. I was flooded with questions like: How could I be certain that I belonged to Jesus? How did I know for sure that I was going to be received at the pearly gates? I had a crisis of faith and was not confident that Jesus would actually show up for me.
Oh, he showed up and conquered my crisis by revealing himself through acts of kindness. Without question, specific acts of kindness I experienced spoke so directly to my questions about God that I could almost literally feel God’s hands on my shoulders and those specific acts helped me see the face of Jesus clearer than I had ever seen Him before. The multiple and constant details in the acts of kindness proved to me that only God himself could have arranged them. Indeed, this was the power of God’s Kingdom that I had heard about so often and now was experiencing. God powerfully and thoughtfully pierced my fearful heart with undeserved kindness to let me know He was present with me.
When we are in trauma or know someone who is in trauma isn’t the idea of offering comfort a curious thing? How do we comfort others in their loss? Everything we do may seem so meaningless and insignificant whether it is a card, a call or making a dinner for a suffering family. The simple act of our hands is not what comforts others; it is the loving act that came from our heart first that penetrates a person’s spirit and brings them comfort. Listen to your heart. Do that thing that is in response to the Spirit of God. God needs your hands, your words, your actions to express his love for another one of his children.
Mother Theresa said, “Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting…Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well.”
Be kind and experience the true power of God’s Kingdom. It not only will change another person’s heart; it will change your heart too. Watch hardened hearts melt away and become vulnerably able to receive love. Experience God with the gift of authentic and compassionate words spoken to someone and see how your heart doubles in size. Smile with kindness and change a person’s day for the better… Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well.
Sheri Page has been married to her husband for 10 years and cherishes their blended family of 6 adult children and 9 grandchildren. She has worked in and alongside ministries for over 30 years. She has served many roles with in the walls of a church including, a Women’s Ministry director and assistant to a Care Pastor where she served people who were walking through Baptism, Celebrate Recovery, Divorce Care and benevolence. Sheri loves to share her curiosity and unique understanding of life with Jesus by her side. She is a 5 year breast cancer survivor and considers that experience to be the one of the greatest gifts God has given her. More writings from Sheri can be found on her blog: https://thelordsdwellingplace.com/