“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NIV)
Put faith, love, and hope on every day.
You already wear faith, whether you believe in God or not. You have faith the sun will rise, the rain will fall, and the earth will rotate. Scientists know the mechanics of each of those things, but they don’t control them. Every breath you take is one of faith, believing air exists, allowing for you to live. Faith is a part of everyone’s life, even if they don’t know it.
Love, however, is something we must work at each day. We have to choose to love, not hate. Finding fault with people is easy; finding things to love, sometimes more challenging. Putting on love means remembering what Jesus did for you. Whoever is in your life that gets on your last nerve, remind yourself, Jesus died for them. That thought helps us put on love every day.
Hope comes from faith and love. As we have faith that God is working, obeying His commands to love, hope grows. Each step taken, filling our hearts with anticipation of God’s good work in our lives, whether here on earth or in His Kingdom above.
Primp with prayer.
Putting on the beautiful attire of faith, love, and hope starts best with prayer. Just as we have routines for getting physically dressed, we can have one for our spiritual attire. Primping with prayer doesn’t require a lot of time. A simple, “God, renew Your Spirit within me,” packs a powerful punch. Think of the simple mantra as dressing from within. God’s spirit overflows from inside of us to the outside world. Faith, love, and hope become standard attire.
In this time of COVID, my prayer for humanity is that people will seek Jesus in their time of distress. When life knocks us flat on our back, it forces us to look up to heaven. Focusing our eyes on things not of this world will give us the strength to stand:
“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” (Psalm 40:2 NIV)
Life comes in waves sometimes. Things we never thought happen, changing our lives forever. When my nephew died, that was one of those moments for me. Life knocked me down; I didn’t have the strength to get up. God picked me up in my darkest hour and put me back on solid ground. He does the same thing for me every day. He’ll do the same for you.
Primp with prayer. Ask God to renew His Spirit within you. Make faith, love, and hope standard attire in your life.
Question of the Day:
How can you make primping with prayer a regular part of your life?
Further Reading: Jeremiah 19-21 NIV, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28 NIV, Psalm 82:1-8 NIV, Proverbs 25:9-10 NIV
