3 Grand Gestures that Gain Positive Results
Tonight, I put on my big girl pants and went to visit a very difficult person who is sick. Let me be honest — I did not want to go. Everything inside me wanted to hide and make excuses.
- I am too tired. I’ll just go tomorrow.
- I will call. A phone call is perfectly acceptable instead. Right?
- It won’t make a difference if go anyway, so why bother wasting my time?
After I finished arguing with myself for an hour, I said a simple one-sentence prayer:
Jesus, help me not mess this one up. Amen.
I grabbed my keys, marched resolutely to my minivan, and reported for duty.
If I want to see a miracle, I must show up in the mire and serve.
Maybe like me you want to hide from the difficult assignment God has placed in your life. God sees you sitting there in your kitchen looking at the phone and wishing you didn’t have to answer another call from that pesky relative or neighbor. He understands how you feel when your attempts to help someone are met with apathy and rejection over and over.
Friends, we have a Savior who was stripped bare to reach out to undeserving sinners like you and me. His crucified life was a grand gesture of love, and with His help we can pick up our cross and choose to follow.
Grand gestures of love help loosen the enemy’s grip on the lost.
3 Grand Gestures that Gain Positive Results
Extend Grace
Give people the benefit of the doubt, rather than be picky. God has set aside our ugly sins, so we should lean toward love and let go of our list of expectations.
“Continually pursue peace with everyone, and the sanctification without which no one will ever see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of God’s grace; that no root of resentment springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.” (Hebrews 12:14-15, AMP)
Express Gratitude
Take note of the little ways people pour into your life and thank them profusely. Choose to celebrate others rather than fall into the comparison trap.
“Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” (Philippians 1:3-6, MSG)
Embrace Generosity
Ask God to help you notice the needs of the hurting and helpless. Greedy hearts always end up empty-handed, so give away your time, talent, and treasure.
“The generous man is a source of blessing and shall be prosperous and enriched, and he who waters will himself be watered reaping the generosity he has sown.” (Proverbs 11:25, AMP)
What grand gesture will you make this week to share God’s love with the world?
Friend, we can start by cultivating a heart of gratitude rather than gravitating toward grumbling. To help you get started, I’ve created a one-page printable for you to count your blessings from A to Z. Subscribe to the blog and grab a copy in our Faith Fuel Library.
What if we got busy about God’s business this week instead of being busy bodies? We might just see people with eyes of grace instead of griping and complaining. As we look for ways to affirm our loves, our hearts will acknowledge God’s blessings, and we will uproot any seeds of bitterness the enemy has scattered. With fully surrendered hearts, we will reach out to the weary and witness God’s redemption at work in our lives.
Grand gestures of love help tenderize hard hearts.
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Lyli, this is so beautiful! Such a confirmation to something God has been working in me. This week I mailed one of my prodigals a care package (not my flesh and blood child), and now my daughter’s telling me she thinks we should invite our dear prodigal home for Thanksgiving. Um.
I think God may be speaking to me through you, friend!
Praying for you, brave mama! Hugs
Mmmm…. yes! Miracles happen when we move toward the mess! Great encouragement to get out of my comfort zone!
I get a little too comfortable sometimes…. but then I remember God didn’t call me to be comfortable.
Lyli, just beautiful > “Extend grace. Express gratitude. Embrace generosity. Show up.”
Easy to write. Hard to live sometimes.
Spot-on, my friend. Thinking the best of others caught my attention. Mulling that around today. Happy Friday, Lyli.
I don’t know why my mind always focuses on the negative. It’s a habit i am praying for God to help me break.
Lyli, as always you give reasons to put my faith into action…and provide practical ways for me to do it with a prayer in my heart. Thank you.
Aw, I am glad that this encouraged you, Deb. I really need to just tattoo this on my forehead to remind me.
me, too. but what I was encouraged by is that I do this and feel frustrated that people aren’t getting saved(!) but now to keep doing all this and more and let God do the tenderizing and connecting in HIs time and way. Pass the tattoo ink, please.
This is great- it is so important to step out of our comfort zone to show God’s love in practical ways, and even a small gesture can often have a big impact.
Yes, what we consider a “grand gesture” really just is common courtesy. Small offerings make a big difference.
I’m thankful to be entering into the spirit of this post by the power of the Spirit. Thanks for your nudges toward gratitude — and for inviting us to get out there and take some risks for His glory.
I am glad to hear that this resonated with you, Michele I don’t know what it is about the holidays that always seems to stir things up in my little corner of the word. I am praying for the Spirit to help me stay faithful in the messy.
Lyli, this is a beautiful and powerful post. I had to smile at your first prayer of asking Jesus to help you not mess this up. 😉 I need to remember that prayer. Your vulnerability is what makes this article so breathtaking. And there’s this: “Greedy hearts always end up empty-handed, so give away your time, talent, and treasure.” Amen!
I pray that prayer often, Karen. On my own, I get it wrong almost every time. I am thankful He takes the blinders off and points me in the right direction.
I so need to remind myself, with the not-so-easy-to-love people in my life, that God reached out to me and loved me when there was nothing lovable in me, and that by His grace I need to reach out to them rather than keep my distance. Thank you for the needed reminder.
It’s not easy, friend…. but I tell myself that I must do it … because if I don’t, then who will let their little light shine in that dark corner? It’s my mission field.
Lyli, THIS! So much this! Thank you for writing this. I’m a firm believer. 😉
I especially love your “embracing generosity” tips.
Wonderful article!
-Rachel
Rachel, thank you for being a cheerleader friend. I must confess i am not very generous in nature sometimes. I think it has a bit to do with being an only child and a spoiled brat for most of my life. — Thankfully, God gave me a husband who excels in this area, and he is teaching me by example.
Lyli, I so needed to read this today. Thank you for your beautiful honesty. God bless!
Hugs, friend. May God give you grace to meet each moment.
I’m sure you were such a sweet blessing to your sick friend, Lyli! There’s such value in just showing up! I’ve been trying all week to go see my nephew in the hospital a few hours away. Each time we planned to go, they thought he was going to be released instead. Now he finally has been released, praise God, but we never got to see him.
Well, I am glad he is home. I am sure he appreciated your concern and prayers. — LIsa, your life embodies so much of what this post talked about. Reading your blog always points me in the right direction.
so blessed by this (shared and tweeted) – that a grand gesture of love can tenderize hearts. prayed just now how and what to do for someone we love. tricky when they are smarter than you are and don’t believe in God (yet.)
Girl, grabbing those keys can be a tough next step. Man, can I relate! But, whether ‘that one’ accepts or rejects our effort, nothing trumps the experience of pleasing our Father through obedience. Great post and wisdom, Lyli!
Great inspiration to do the difficult. This is exactly what the Lord has been saying…. Love the gratitude and generosity challenge.
Loving actions are so powerful even when our heart is wary of those who have hurt us. I find the hardest part is to trust God to protect my heart with difficult people and not put up the walls myself.