Let your conversation be always full of grace. Colossians 4:6
Recently, I was challenged by this verse. In the space of a few weeks, I experienced several disappointments. I didn’t get the job I expected, a family member required more surgery than expected and I came down with a bad cold. Suddenly I found myself tired and irritable and my conversation was far from being “full of grace.”
I was reminded of John Ortberg’s comment in his book, The Life You’re Always Wanted. He said for him to be a loving person required an enormous amount of energy, so if he was serious about becoming a more loving person, he was going to have to get more sleep! The events of those few weeks had seriously depleted my energy supplies and being a loving person, like having your conversation full of grace, requires a significant amount of energy.
About this time I came across a quote from Leon Morris, “It is easy for the servants of God to become discouraged: the opposition they meet is so constant and the good they are trying to do is so hard to accomplish.”
It reflected how I was feeling and made me realize that we really do wrestle, “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). It’s easy to be discouraged when we are struggling with various stresses and low levels of energy.
So in order for my conversation to be “always full of grace,” I need to lower my expectations of what is achievable when I’m sick, tired, stressed or even disappointed. And remember that my body and my mind need much more rest when I’m under pressure.
