Monday, May 25, 2026

Bible in a Year: Isaiah 45-50 | Romans 5

It is said that in Northwest Ohio, if you don’t like the weather now, just wait an hour, and it will probably change. I experienced this personally this past week while waiting for a track meet to start. The day was hot and sunny, but right when the meet was supposed to begin, the skies opened and dumped torrents of rain. The meet was canceled. Then the sun came back out. The same thing happened the following day. Needless to say, I was beyond disappointed.

Although we cannot control the weather, we can prepare for it. We bring umbrellas, have alternative plans, and stay flexible.

Relationships are like the weather. We don’t have control over the other person, but we can prepare for the “downpours.” We should never seek out conflict, but we should be prepared for when it comes. Unfortunately, many relationships are destroyed by this lack of preparation.

In his letter to the Ephesian Church, the apostle Paul provides some helpful advice for developing “rain-ready” relationships, capable of withstanding downpours.

Ephesians 4: 21-24
Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God - truly righteous and holy.

When we become Christ followers, we trade our old sinful nature for a new spiritual nature. Paul characterizes that sinful nature as lustful and deceptive. As much as we don’t want that to be true, that is exactly what we are by nature.

Lust and deception are only satisfied by gratifying our physical desires. We lust after people, things, and even food. In each of these instances, our desire for that object becomes ultimate. We lie or mislead to obtain our desired outcome. Our needs and wishes trump the needs and desires of other people. This behavior will always break relationships.

Instead, we are called to live in the new nature we have in Christ. Instead of lust and deception, this life is characterized by righteousness and holiness. Often it means denying our own desires and putting others first. Sometimes it means telling the truth when it’s hard.

When we regularly practice these habits, we begin the process of making our relationships rain-ready.

Questions:
Which of your relationships needs to become rain-ready?

What are some of the behaviors you need to put off to make this relationship better?

Next Steps:
Make an intentional effort to implement some of the steps you thought of above to improve your relationship.

Read 1 Corinthians 13, and pick an attribute of love that you will focus on developing in your daily life.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of relationships. Thank you for the joy they bring to my life. Thank you for the gift of the people you have blessed me with. Forgive me for responding in ways that tear down these relationships instead of building them up. Help me know which steps I need to take to improve my relationships with those I love. Amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Galatians 5:13
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

This post was written by Julie Mabus, a Whitehouse attendee and a regular contributor to the Daily LivingItOut.