Thinking the Best of Others: A Biblical Approach to Love and Grace

Music. Welcome to the Thankful Homemaker podcast, a podcast to be an encouragement and blessing to each other in the role God has called us to as women.

I'm so thankful you've stopped by, so grab yourself a coffee or tea and sit with me a bit as we talk about how God's Word impacts every area of our lives as Christian women. Hello, friend. I'm Marci Farrell from Thankful Homemaker, and I'm so glad to be with you today. Today, we're going to talk about something that it's close to home for many of us, and it's learning to think the best of others.

This is an area where I know I need continual growth, and if you're anything like me, it might be an area you need some help with too. So as Christian women, whether in our roles as wives, mothers, homemakers, neighbors, friends, members of our local church, our relationships are shaped by how we think about and respond to one another. Scripture tells us that love believes all things and hopes all things. That's 1 Corinthians 13, 7.

But what does that really mean in our daily lives? Does it mean we ignore reality, that we never exercise discernment, or does it point us to a deeper call to love others as Christ has loved us? We're going to unpack that today, and we're going to explore not only the why thinking the best of others can be so difficult at times, but also how we can live it out in our marriages, with our children, in our church families.

And my hope is that by the end of this episode, we'll all be encouraged to ask the Lord to search our hearts and transform the way we love others.

And before we dive in, I want to mention two most excellent upcoming conferences I want to share with you. The first one is for the men in your life. And I know some of you ladies were able, because you're a Midwesterner like me, to attend our Word First Ladies conference that my local church held. And we had Michelle Leslie as our guest speaker last year. And it was such a blessing to learn alongside one another, get to spend time with so many other ladies from like-minded churches.

We had 140 women in attendance from over 38 churches. We have another one coming up in 2026. So I will keep you updated when that comes up for the ladies. But now we have another conference coming up this spring. But this one is for the men in your life. So please, ladies, share this with your husband, your brothers, your sons, your friends. Your husband can bring your sons that are 13 and up to this. It's the Word First Men's Conference. It's on April 5th.

It's one day, not a huge time commitment. It's at my local church, First Baptist in West Bend, Wisconsin. And Tony Wood, who many of you know from the Date Night with the Woods podcast, is going to be the keynote speaker. I hope you guys, if you haven't yet, if you had a chance to listen into my interview with them, it was on the podcast, the episode right before this one, it was called Building Strong Marriages and Families.

Check that out if you haven't yet. But they're going to cover topics like purity, leadership in the home, leaving a lasting legacy, addressing cultural challenges, things like deconstruction. Good stuff for the men in our life to be encouraged in the word, enjoy fellowship, be edified alongside other brothers in the faith. So I will put the link in the show notes for that. But we'd love to see your husband, your sons, your brothers, your friends.

So please pass the info along to them. And if they're maybe if you're local, that's lovely. If you can travel a little bit, that would be great. I just encourage them to come if they are able and to bring a friend or two or more. That would be lovely. And I have one more conference to share with you. Just give me another two minutes here of your time. It's the G3 Conference in Atlanta, Gospel, Grace, and Glory. It's coming up this year in September.

And if you're a planner like me, I love to just get these things on the calendar. So I'm ready. I just want this one on your radar in case you can make it work. It's been one of our favorites for my husband and I. We've been attending them since 2017. This year, the topic is faith and the speaker list is phenomenal. Check out the link for the show notes. The link will be in the show notes, I should say, for this one. But I also have a coupon code for you if you are interested.

It is G3 Homemaker. I'll put that in there too. But we're going to be there. I'm going to have a booth in what's called Podcast Row. And I'm hoping to record an episode live from the conference with my husband. That's getting pretty techie for both of us. I have a hard time getting him on the podcast if you haven't noticed that already because I think he's only been on two episodes. But I'm pretty excited that he agreed to this one. So I'm looking forward to

it. But the G3 conference, it is just an encouraging weekend. There's so much solid teaching to take in. I love seeing old friends there, making new friends. I'd love to see you there and get to give you a hug in person. So again, that discount code gets you 20% off. It's G3 Homemaker. I'll put all that. I'll put both those conference details. They'll be linked in the show notes along with that code for the G3 conference.

Okay, housekeeping's over there. So let's dig into our topic today. And we are on episode 169 and it's titled Thinking the Best of Others, A Biblical Approach to Love and Grace. So love is one of the clearest marks of a believer. In 1 Corinthians 13, 7, it gives us a beautiful picture of what true love looks like. It challenges us to love in a way that believes all things and hopes all things.

But what does that mean in our everyday relationships, in a world where it's easy to assume the worst about others? Thinking the best can feel so difficult, and yet this is the love that God calls us to. This is a challenge for me personally at times. There have been moments when I've jumped to conclusions about someone's motives or actions only to realize later that I'd completely misjudged them.

But God has been so gracious in using his word to remind me of how important it is to extend grace and trust him in my relationships. So this is an area that I want to continue to grow in, and I hope that you will too alongside me as we dig into this a little bit deeper today. So let's get a brief background on the book of 1 Corinthians before we start working through the passage today.

We know it was written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth, and that was a church that was struggling with division and pride and selfishness, probably like all of us, right? Hello. The believers there were misusing spiritual gifts. They were elevating certain individuals over others. They were lacking love in their interactions. And chapter 13 falls right in the middle of Paul's discussion on spiritual gifts there, where he was talking about chapters 12 through 14.

He interrupts the discussion to emphasize that no gift or ability has any value apart from love. The Corinthians were focused on their knowledge, their speaking abilities, their gifts. But Paul reminds them that without love, these things are nothing. So verses 4 through 7 there in 1 Corinthians 13, they provide us with a beautiful and a convicting description of what true biblical love looks like. It is patient. It's kind, right? It's not self-seeking. It's not easily angered.

And as we see in verse 7, that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. So Paul is showing the Corinthians and us that love, it's not just an emotion. It's an action. It's a way of life that reflects Christ himself. And this kind of love is not natural to us. It's a fruit of the Spirit. Think Galatians 5, 22, 23 there. And that only grows as we abide in Christ and allow his word to transform us.

So ultimately, 1 Corinthians 13, it points us to Christ's perfect love. It's a love that believes and hopes and endures, not because people are always trustworthy, but because God is faithful to complete the good work that he has started in us. And I am so thankful for that. In 1 Corinthians 13, 7, the Apostle Paul reminds us that love chooses to believe and hope the best about others.

And this doesn't mean ignoring sin or being gullible or being naive, but it does mean having a heart that extends grace and assumes the best and trust in God's work in people's life. So to believe all things, it's giving the benefit of the doubt. It's seeing the best in others. It's resisting jumping to conclusions, I should say. And as Augustine said, love is ever ready to believe the best about people. So love focuses on their strengths and their virtues instead of dwelling on their faults.

And this doesn't mean that we're abandoning wisdom or discernment, but we're approaching situations with a generous spirit. I love how this commentator said it. He said, love errs on the side of generosity. Hoping all things means that love looks to the future with confidence in God's promises. It means that, again, we're trusting that the Lord is working to grow and sanctify his people. If we're truly loving others, we're not going to disregard anyone as hopeless or beyond redemption.

We're going to cling to the hope of what God is able to do in their lives, right? Anything is possible with God. That is such a reminder for us. But God, I always think about that a lot. so even we're going to cling to that hope even when we think the situation looks hopeless because we don't know what the Lord can do and we don't know what his plans are. Love isn't gullible. Again, it doesn't ignore truth, but it does choose to think the best.

It's not assuming hidden motives or jumping to conclusions or immediately questioning someone's sincerity. It's giving the benefit of the doubt, extending grace. I feel like I'm gonna say that over and over again here, unless there's a clear reason not to. When we understand what it means to believe and hope all things, this will now give us the framework for loving others well. But let's be honest, it's not always easy to live this out, right?

I don't know about you, but my default, sadly, at so many times can be to assume the worst, especially if someone has hurt me in the past. And instead of taking the time to consider the other person's perspective or intentions, I can find myself being critical or suspicious or questioning motives. It's as if I've already decided that I know their intentions better than they do. That's not very fair or loving, is it? Have you ever misunderstood a friend's words? Or what about your husband?

Because it can be too easy to do this in our marriages. I've done this where I've just assumed that maybe they didn't care about my feelings or they were thinking things that they probably weren't even thinking. I may not have expressed it to them, but it's what I was thinking about them in my own thoughts. And that's convicting when you realize how you've jumped to the wrong conclusion instead of giving them the benefit of the doubt.

And yet, I know how much I appreciate it when others choose to believe the best about me. There have been times when I've spoken too quickly, made a poor decision, or wasn't as thoughtful as I should have been. And in those moments, I would so much rather someone extend grace to me and assume the best and seek understanding instead of jumping to conclusions about my motives. But how often am I slow to do the same for others? Luke 6.31 reminds us, And as you wish that others would do to you,

do so to them. So if I long for others to believe the best about me, then shouldn't I be eager to extend that same love to them? When I think here of assuming the worst of others, Job's friends come to mind. I don't want to be like that. They just assumed his suffering was caused by sin, and instead of comforting and encouraging him, all they did was add to his pain. Love seeks to understand, and it doesn't rush to judgment.

So when we assume the worst about others, it becomes all too easy to become hurt, bitter, and frustrated. But when we choose to believe the best, we are going to find ourselves more at peace. we're going to be less easily upset and we're going to be filled with hope and joy. Assuming the worst, it's going to be an issue because it doesn't just stay in our thoughts. It's affecting our attitudes and our words.

And then even how we treat people, it can make us defensive or distant in our relationships. Maybe it's the simple thing like, again, assuming a friend didn't text you back because she's upset with you. In reality, she was just having a busy day or believing your husband was intentionally unkind in a moment of frustration rather than considering that maybe in that moment he was just overwhelmed.

When we think the worst, it poisons our relationships. It stirs up unnecessary conflict, and it'll put up a wall between us. It makes it harder for us to extend grace at that point. As we choose to believe the best, we're building trust and stronger connections. We're reflecting the patience and kindness of Christ. We become slower to take offense. We're quicker to forgive. And we're more willing to love others as Christ has loved us.

And again, this is not meaning we ignore sin or excuse wrong behavior. But it does mean that we're approaching people with a heart of grace over suspicion. So instead of letting our minds go to this worst-case scenario, we can stop and pray and ask the Lord to help us respond in love just as he does with us. And how does God's word call us to this? And as I'm here, I wanna pause and if this is an area you struggle or you wanna dig deeper, I always encourage you to do that to study.

I'll put whatever verses I use will be in the main show notes. There's a pretty full blog post on this one over there. So you can dig a little deeper. You can just dig deeper into 1 Corinthians 13 and work through this and it'll expand and open that text to you. So I really encourage you to do this. But the Bible gives us really clear guidance on how to love others well. 1 Peter 4.8 reminds us, Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins.

It doesn't mean ignoring sin or pretending it doesn't exist, but it does mean that love chooses to respond with grace rather than harboring resentment. Love doesn't keep a record of wrongs. That's 1 Corinthians 13.5. It seeks reconciliation instead of dwelling on offenses. John Piper shared in an article at Desiring God titled, How Does Love Cover a Multitude of Sin?

And he explains that this verse, it's not about covering up sin in a deceptive way, but rather it's about the way love absorbs minor offenses rather than making them bigger than they need to be. So every day we have opportunities to either dwell on someone's faults or choose to extend grace and move forward in love. Love covers sin in the sense that it refuses to magnify every slight imperfection.

Instead of picking apart every flaw or holding on to grievances, love gives the benefit of the doubt, it forgives quickly, and it entrusts ultimate justice to God. So this connects so well with believing the best of others because if we're holding on to every offense, we're going to be easily irritated and suspicious. But when we choose to cover minor offenses with love, we cultivate relationships of trust, unity, and grace.

Imagine the difference that would make in our homes and in our churches. Of course, this doesn't mean we never confront sin when necessary, but it does mean that we let go of unnecessary accusations, and we allow love to guide our thoughts and words and actions. Matthew 18, 21-22 calls us to forgive others again and again. When someone seeks forgiveness, love believes that they are sincere, and it's trusting God to work in their heart.

And this kind of love mirrors the way Christ forgives us. One commentator stated it this way. He said, Love believes all things, not because it trusts people, but because it trusts the God who is at work in them. And Paul's prayer in Philippians 1, 9 through 10 highlights a love that is discerning and grounded in real knowledge and wisdom. Let me read those verses to you. This is Philippians 1, 9 through 10.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.

So when we consider what it means to believe and hope all things, it's important to reflect on the complete picture of love described in 1 Corinthians 13, 4-7. Let me just read this here. Paul writes, Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

So this love, this kind of love, it's patient and kind because it chooses to believe the best, even when it's hard, right? Because our passage, love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, comes right after that. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs or assume the worst, but instead it is extending grace, it's giving grace, it's offering grace, it's choosing to trust that God is working in that person's life.

We see a beautiful example of this kind of love and how Jesus restored Peter in John chapter 21 verses 15 to 19. So after Peter denied Jesus three times, at that moment, I mean, we don't know what he felt, but he must have felt a little unworthy of Christ's love. But Jesus in his kindness met Peter where he was. When Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him, Jesus wasn't focusing on Peter's failure, but on his future.

He lovingly called Peter to feed my sheep, showing he was not done with him. I appreciate this moment because it's so encouraging to remind us that Jesus's love doesn't dwell on our failures, but instead sees who we are becoming through his grace. We too quickly can dwell on the failures or shortcomings of others and not extend that same grace and love to them. This changes everything, doesn't it? We don't believe the best about others because they are always trustworthy, but because our God is.

As we continue to choose to believe the best of others and hope the best, there's some good benefits because it's going to deepen our relationships with one another. Grace is going to flourish. It's going to build trust. We'll find ourselves focusing on Philippians 4, 8 thoughts on what is good and praiseworthy. We'll find freedom from bitterness and frustration that are just part of being suspicious of one another's motives.

I had a recent situation with a friend who seemed distant, and I wrestled with the thought that they might be upset with me.

I couldn't understand or know why I wasn't sure and it would have been really easy to let that thought take hold and fester to assume the worst and withdraw but instead in that moment I just chose to believe the best I prayed for them and then I reached out and it turned out they were just struggling with some personal burdens and they were so thankful that I checked in on them that moment reminded me just how important it is to to really to offer grace instead of

suspicion to assume the best instead of allowing doubts to drive a wedge between us. There are so many times when I can think back to when I offered grace instead of assuming the worst, and I never regret those moments. A situation that might have caused division or damaged a friendship instead led to a deeper, more honest relationship. Approaching one another with a heart of love and trust, it is powerful.

And as we reflect this kind of love, we're reflecting the heart of Christ and pointing others within our homes, churches, and communities to the hope we have in him. It believes, love believes the best because it trusts that in the end, truth will stand. Love rests in the fact that God is in control and that his plans will always come to pass, right? We serve a God who is sovereign.

So it's one thing to understand what scripture teaches about love, about believing and hoping all things, but what does this look like in the day-to-day moments of our lives? I'm the practical one here, right? How do we take this truth and walk it out in real relationships, especially when some of those can be really difficult? Because it's pretty easy to believe the best about someone you just naturally love so dearly and get along with. But what about when someone has

hurt you in the past? Or what about those difficult people in your lives? And what do I always like to remind us that we are the difficult people in somebody else's life? Or what about when a misunderstanding makes it really tempting to assume the worst? Then how do we respond in those moments?

So as Christian women, whether in our whatever role we're at, whether it's wives, mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, we have countless opportunities every day to choose grace over suspicion, trust over doubt, and love over frustration. But this is not something we can do in our own strength, right? If we want to truly live this how, we need the Lord to transform our hearts and shape our thinking to be able to reflect his love.

So as we're going to look at some practical ways to apply this truth, ask yourself some of these questions like, where is God calling me to grow in this area? Who in my life have I been quick to assume the worst about? And how can I intentionally walk in love today? So. I'm going to deal with prayer here first, because that's like a priority one, right? When we struggle to believe the best, it comes from forgetting who is ultimately at work in their lives.

We can be really quick to grow frustrated with someone's shortcomings or lose patience with their growth, but God's Word reminds us that He is sanctifying His people, and He is always faithful to finish what He starts. That's Philippians 1.6. There, right, assures us, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. So one of the most powerful ways to grow in believing the best about others is just to pray for them.

When we bring our frustrations and assumptions and hurts to the Lord, He softens our hearts and He aligns our thoughts with His. So instead of dwelling on critical thoughts, turn them into prayers. Ask God to help you see that person through His eyes with grace and patience. Pray for their growth and sanctification. Again, you're trusting that the Lord is working in their life just as He is in yours. Pray for their salvation if they're not a believer.

When we find ourselves doubting someone's growth, we need to step back and we need to trust in God's timing rather than our own expectations. Romans 8, 28 reminds us that God is working all things for good, even when we can't see it. So instead of growing impatient, pray these promises over the people you struggle with. Ask the Lord to continue his work in them and in you. And just as we long for others to trust in God's work in us, we should extend that same trust towards them.

And then again, it's praying for your own heart to be slow to judge and quick to give grace and eager to trust that God is working in ways we don't see. So often when we pray for others, God changes us, right? He's helping us to love with a heart that reflects His. When we root our hearts in God's faithfulness, we're going to reflect His patience and love and choosing to believe the best in that moment, not because we see it yet, but because we trust that our good God, He's not finished.

We want to give the benefit of the doubt. I know I've talked about this all through here, but it's really good to be reminded. It's really easy to assume the worst when someone's words or actions hurt us. We can fill in the gaps with our own assumptions and whatever we think they're thinking. And before we know, we have created this whole story in our minds that is probably not even true.

But love chooses a different way, one that pauses, one that asks questions, one that again is assuming the best and not just jumping to our own conclusions. We don't want to let suspicion take over. Ask ourselves, could there be another explanation for this? So that friend who didn't text back might just be overwhelmed. Your text got lost in her chain of texts. Have you ever done that? I've done that. Your husband's short response could be from exhaustion, not frustration.

Doesn't mean it's right, but let's offer grace, right? Love covers a multitude of sins here. That's a minor offense. That friend who seemed distant may be struggling with something unrelated to you. reach out and offer a hand of grace to her. Proverbs 19, 11 reminds us, good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. Not everything needs to become a source of hurt. Sometimes love looks like letting it go and trusting God is at work in them just as he is in us.

Luke 6, 31 encourages us, and as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. Isn't that so true? We want others to believe the best about us when we fall short, and we do fall short. right? Quite often, I'm sure. I know I do. When we say something the wrong way, or when we're struggling and not as thoughtful as we should be, we long for grace, for someone to assume the best instead of assuming the worst.

So if we're desiring that for ourselves, shouldn't we be willing to extend it to others? Believing the best is an act of love that reflects the same kindness and patience that we would hope to receive. We want to focus on their strengths because when we struggle, when we're struggling to believe the best, our minds often tend to zero in on their faults. We replay past frustrations. We dwell on what bothers us. We forget that we too are flawed, right?

And we are in need of much grace. But love calls us to something different. It calls us to look for the good and to see others through the lens of God's work in them and to encourage that work instead of tearing it down. Philippians 4.8 reminds us to think about what is true, what's honorable, what's just, what's pure, what's lovely, what's commendable.

It doesn't mean we ignore sin, but it does mean we choose to focus on what God is doing in someone's life instead of dwelling on their shortcomings. Take it to the Lord in prayer, right? Ask Him to help you see that person as He does, not just as they are now, but as someone He is shaping and sanctifying, just as He's doing to you.

A simple way to do this is to maybe write down a few things you appreciate about them. That will help you to start to see the positives, the good things that are lovely and commendable. And then when the opportunity arises, maybe you can encourage them with some of those things. Proverbs 16.24 tells us that gracious words bring sweetness and healing.

A kind word, a small encouragement, or even a shift in our own thinking can transform our relationships, fostering trust and love instead of criticism and division. And forgiveness, right? This is one of the hardest, yet the most freeing ways that we can live out believing the best of others. Because if we hold on to bitterness, it clouds our ability to see someone through the lens of grace. Instead of assuming they can change, we get stuck in that resentment.

But scripture calls us to a different way. Colossians 3, 12-13 reminds us, put on then as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

This passage is such a beautiful reminder that as believers, we are called to put on the character of Christ, choosing patience, kindness, and humility, even when it's difficult. We are not alone in this, right? The Lord is with us. Notice that phrase, bearing with one another. That means there's gonna be times when people frustrate or hurt us, but instead of holding onto those offenses, we're called to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us.

When we forgive, we are choosing to believe the best, not necessarily because of the person's actions, but because we trust in God's work in their life. We leave justice in his hands and we trust him with the outcome. It doesn't mean excusing sin or allowing ongoing harm, but it does mean releasing resentment and seeking to reflect the love of Christ. So cultivating patience and gentleness. These are some areas that I wrote fairly often on my blog.

If you're there and you're looking for more on a topic, like let's say you wanna look for a little bit more on patience or gentleness, if you find a little search emblem at my blog or if you're on your mobile and you hit the menu button, a search part will come up in the menu there too. But throw in words like patience or gentleness if you're looking for something specific and any posts that talk about that will come up for you there.

It's over at thankfulhomemaker.com, which was where the main show notes will be for this. It's the cultivating patience and gentleness here. It's really easy to react on frustration when we're feeling hurt or misunderstood. And I know for me, sadly, it's an area I have to guard and be cautious of because I'm a reactor and I react from emotions and I know this and I'm learning to pause, but our emotions rise quickly. And before we even think, words come spilling out that we later regret.

We can't take those back once they come out, right? But when we pause, even for a moment, to just pray and ask the Lord for patience and gentleness and a kind response, it can completely change the course of a conversation. Proverbs 15.1 reminds us, A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. A gentle response can sow diffused tension. It can soften hearts. It can create space for real understanding.

When we just take a step back and we choose to respond with love instead of reacting in frustration, we're reflecting Christ's heart. So whether in our marriage, in our relationship with our kiddos, in our friendships, in our church relationships, gentleness is a powerful way to believe the best of others. Being patient is another powerful way. Ask the Lord to help you to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and eager to extend grace.

A patient heart sees beyond the moment, and it trusts that God is working even in those difficult moments or difficult conversations. I love this. Ask questions and listen well. Another area I want to continue to grow in. And so often when we assume the worst about someone, it's because we've never really taken the time to understand them. We just, right, instead of asking questions, we just start filling in the blanks with our own assumptions.

And more often than not, those assumptions, they're wrong. But love slows down and listens, right? We just talked about that, that James 119. When we listen well, we show that we value the other person, that we're caring about their heart and not just the situation. So the next time that you're tempted to assume motives, and I'm speaking this to myself, pause and ask a thoughtful question instead. Like, can you help me understand what you meant by that? Or I may have misunderstood.

Could you explain what you were thinking differently? These simple moments of curiosity and grace can break down walls and they can build deeper trust and connections. So what about when we need to confront sin, right? When we need to speak the truth in love because believing the best about others doesn't mean turning a blind eye to sin or avoiding difficult conversations. Love isn't passive. It seeks what is truly good for the other person, right? It doesn't rejoice in wrongdoing.

So there's going to be times when love requires speaking hard truths, but how we approach those moments makes all the difference.

This is an important point because believing the best, again, it doesn't mean to ignore sin or pretend everything is fine when it isn't. There's going to be times out of love when we need to speak the truth into someone's life. But even in those moments, our approach matters. Ephesians 4.15 reminds us to speak the truth in love, not in harshness, right, or frustration, or anger, or self-righteousness, but with a heart that desires to restore, not accuse.

This is key. The goal of biblical confrontation is always, always redemption and reconciliation, not condemnation. This is why we are seeking the best of the other person here. So that's why we need to take the log out of our eye before we remove that speck. So when we're addressing sinner relationship, again, whether it's in our marriage with our kids or our friendships or wherever that might be, we need to do so prayerfully and humbly.

And this is key, with a heart that is truly desiring the other person's good. We don't just want to do it to be right. So before speaking, we need to ask ourselves, am I confronting this with the right motives? Have I taken time to pray? Am I seeking to build up and not tear down? Galatians 6.1 exhorts us to restore one another in a spirit of gentleness, being mindful of our own weaknesses.

Love believes the best by approaching hard conversations with grace and patience, always, always pointing back to Christ as the one who changes hearts. So this is a hard one. This is handling repeated hurts because what about when we're trying to believe the best, but someone repeatedly hurts or betrays us? This is a hard area to walk through because believing the best again doesn't mean turning a blind eye to ongoing hurt or pretending that broken trust doesn't matter.

When someone repeatedly wounds us, whether through hurtful words or betrayal or a pattern of sin, we need to hold both to grace and wisdom here. Romans 12, 17, and 18 tells us, Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. This verse acknowledges that peace isn't always possible on our end, but we are still responsible for how we respond.

And while we may not be able to change another person's actions, we can choose to forgive, guard our own hearts against bitterness, and trust God with the justice. Forgiveness is commanded, Ephesians 4.32, but reconciliation and restored trust require genuine repentance. Trust is something that is built over time, and it should be based on consistent faithfulness. I am not, this is not a complete exhaustive exposition here.

I'm going to talk a little bit more about that in a minute. But if someone has repeatedly broken trust or harmed you, you can still choose to forgive them before the Lord without immediately restoring the relationship to what it once was. There may be times when wisdom calls for distance, especially in cases of ongoing sin or harm. So this is key here. This is why seeking godly counsel from a pastor or wise Christian can be so important, not to just get your help from a podcast episode, right?

This is a big deal of a situation to deal with. So it's a difficult situation and you wanna do it in a way that honors Christ and protects your heart from bitterness. You need help with this if you're in a situation like this. No matter what though, we can rest in the truth that God sees, he knows, and he's going to make things right in his perfect time. Our call here is to entrust the situation to him, extend grace as Christ has extended to us and walk in faithfulness.

And whether that means patiently working through reconciliation or when needed, stepping back with wisdom and entrusting that person to the Lord. And I know this is a deeply difficult area and I want to acknowledge again that all situations are different. There are times when wisdom may call for seeking godly counsel from a trusted pastor or a biblical counselor to navigate repeated hurt in a way that honors the Lord. You may need authorities.

I don't know the situation, and I can't cover every aspect here, but I want to encourage you to take these concerns to the Lord in prayer and seek guidance from those who can walk with you through it in a biblical and a wise way. You are not alone, and God is faithful to give wisdom to those who ask, thinking James 1.5 there.

So thinking the best of others, it's not always easy, but it's one of the ways we live out the gospel in our daily lives. When we choose to love by believing and hoping all things, we reflect the love of Christ to those around us. And this kind of love, it can transform our relationships. It can bring grace, trust, and healing into our marriages, strengthening bonds within our families. It can foster unity and encouragement within our church families.

Just imagine the difference it would make if in our marriages we consistently chose to believe the best about our spouse instead of being quick to assume the worst? How might that build trust and deepen connection? Or think about how it could transform family dynamics when we extend this love to our children, giving them the benefit of the doubt and encouraging them to grow.

And then even within our church families, what if we were known as people who trust God's work in each other's lives, who are quick to forgive and slow to judge?

It would create such a sweet atmosphere of grace and unity. Ephesians 4, one through two urges us, I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love. This is our calling as believers, to walk in humility, to be patient with one another, and to bear with each other in love.

It's not about pretending others don't have faults. We need to remember, we have plenty of our own, but it's about choosing to respond in a way that honors Christ. This kind of love doesn't come naturally to us, but as we grow in Him, His Spirit enables us to love as He loves. So the next time you're tempted to jump to conclusions or assume the worst about someone, Pause and ask the Lord and pray and ask the Lord to help you, to remind you of his great love for you and for them.

Pray for his help to reflect that love, even when it feels difficult. So I think here now, who in your life can you extend this kind of love to today? And trust that God is working in their lives and in yours, because he is. Choose grace, trust, and hope. It's not always easy, but it is so worth it when we see how God uses this kind of love to bring growth and healing and peace to our relationships because Jesus truly is enough always, my friend.

Thank you so much for your time today. The full show notes, they're at the blog. There's a pretty decent-sized blog post there too from the notes, kind of skimmed down a little bit or it would be like too long to read and probably a little boring for you with all my ums and likes and everything else in there. And I'll put all the links that are mentioned in there too.

And friend, if you've been encouraged by the podcast, I have a big favor and it would mean so much if you could take a moment and leave a rating and review wherever you listen in. It's just a simple way to help others find the podcast. And I truly so appreciate your support and you're being here with me. I'm grateful. Thank you so, so much for just being here. I truly am grateful for you. And I pray, my friend, that you have a very. Music.