do the right thing

I have to be honest...I've been stewing on this one for a LONG time.  Months at least, if not years. 

I made a list at the beginning of 2020.
Do the right thing...

• when there is no reward or recognition.
• when the cost seems too great.
• when no one else is.
• when it isn't popular.
• when it doesn't make sense.
• when no one is watching.
• when it is hard.

Doing the right thing is rarely the easy thing.  It is the path of great resistance.  Doing the right thing doesn't lead to popularity, recognition, or an easy life.  I've wrestled with this idea of doing the right thing for much of my life, and somewhere along the way, I settled on doing the right thing because it would make people happy.  

As an adult, I've asked myself, "Why should I do the right thing when others don't and it doesn't seem to matter?  Why should I do the right thing when there seems to be no benefit in it for me?"  If you know me, you are probably thinking, "What?!  That doesn't sound like the Dawn I know."  I'm sorry.  I'm being transparent with my struggle and my imperfections, but I would be surprised if I am the only person who has ever felt this way. 

I went to my Bible, looking for a reason to do the right thing, and here is what I found.

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.  James 4:17

So let's not get tired of doing what is good.  At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up.  Galatians 6:9

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.  Colossians 3:23

For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you.  He is your example, and you must follow in His steps.  1 Peter 3:21

I finally found my motivation for doing the right thing...love.  Love for the God who loved me first and sent His only son to die for me.  I choose to be content knowing that He sees me making the right choice and acting on it.  Even if no one else ever knows, I will do the right thing, because that is who God wants me to be and I love Him. 

when I am weak, then I am strong

Each time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness."  So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ can works through me.  That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

I have a plethora of weaknesses.  The worst (in my mind at least) is that I often allow my emotions to rule me.  I've been lost in that place recently, completely overwhelmed by the depth of the feelings that I feel, and unwilling or unable to let them go.  I don't do anything superficially.  I'm an all or nothing girl.  There is no half way for me...and that definitely includes my emotions. 

My lifelong coping skills have been to stuff my emotions until they erupt, to walk away from situations where my emotions threaten to come out, to build a wall around my heart, and to push the people who mean the most to me away from me.  Here's the spoiler...none of my methods work!

I hit my breaking point this past week.  But, the beautiful thing was that God turned it into my breakthrough point.  (And again, God worked in ALL things for the good of those who love Him!)  Quietly, the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "My grace is all you need.  My power works best in weakness." 

What a relief!  I don't have to control my emotions on my own.  God gave me my emotions and He intricately created me.  He made me this crazy combo of deep feeling and all or nothing.  I'm praying that He would teach me His way to live with my emotions.  I fully believe that God can use them for His glory and my good. And, He already promised that when I am weak, He would be strong.