Ever have one of those prayers you’re glad God didn’t answer?

For years I asked God to give me thick skin and a tender heart. I thought my request made sense because I don’t want to become callus or unfeeling but I also don’t want the unkind things people say to me or about me to hurt.

But a wise counselor recently told me that thick skin is by definition a callous. He pointed out that God created pain to make us aware of and respond to harm. It’s not good to be numb to pain if we need to get away from it.

If thick skin is not the answer, what is? To find out, we’ll look at Colossians 3:12-14 and declare this together:

I can clothe myself with mercy because God has forgiven me.

I’m thankful God didn’t answer my prayers for thick skin for a couple of reasons:

1. Pain reveals toxic relationships.
   
2. Mercy heals broken relationships.
   

If you know a tender-hearted person who needs to set some boundaries or a thick-skinned person who needs to show a little mercy, I hope you send them a link to this episode.  Your tongue has power. Use it for good.

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This week’s scripture: Philippians 4:8