A Fight for My Right

Bullying is bad business and society exercises zero tolerance. However, when our personal peace gets bullied, we tend to shrink. Please join me in a recent thought process.

Sitting on my bed and looking through the blinds at the trees outdoors, I took inventory of a whole host of disturbances sitting on the branches of my life. This and that wore the mask of a bully.

Then, it dawned on me. As a child of God, peace is actually my right, my inheritance, `lo, even my privilege! Colossians 1:12 confirms my conviction; “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” And what is my inheritance? PEACE. Jesus died to give me peace and I am entitled to this supernatural quality of life.

So, why the disconnect? All too quickly our Fruit of the Spirit peace is snatched away by the power of one: one negative thought, one unpleasant phone call, one snarky comment, one random text, one rude driver, one alarming lab report, one dismal misunderstanding, one bleak bank statement, one disgruntled colleague, one frightening look into a foggy future, one unhappy child, one social media post.

Yet, herein lies the breakthrough to claiming our inheritance: Peace is a Person, not a set of circumstances. The One Who is the Prince of Peace also holds the power over the one, whatever the one may be. “He himself is our peace.” (Ephesians 1:14a) Did you get that? He is our peace, not the solution, not the resolution, not the result nor the outcome. HE is our peace. And His quiet, supernatural peace is available as my inheritance, regardless.

So, how do we experience more consistently what is rightfully ours? Three actions are key.

1. When that weird feeling stirs in our emotions alerting us to the fact that our peace is subject to bullying, we must intentionally act as warriors and plant our faith flag in the soil of our inheritance.

2. At that pivotal moment, our conversation with Jesus needs to go something like this: “Jesus, You died to give me peace. You are the Prince of Peace. In Your Name, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, I ask that you make real in these circumstances what is already rightfully mine. Please infuse me with Your peace.”

3. And we acknowledge that faith does not have to figure it out. His peace passes understanding (Philippians 4:7) how this might be resolved, how this might work out, how this might be eliminated. In the meantime, we live and breathe P.E.A.C.E. And in reality, peace is more precious that the outcome itself, because He is peace.

   “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

What is most likely bullies your peace?

When this occurs, what is your game plan for claiming your inheritance?

How is your favorite Scripture used as a weapon in your warfare for peace?

When We Dance With Change

Change marked our summer. On September 1st, I found myself writing the following words in my journal, “The summer that never happened is now over.”

The months of June, July, and August burst at the seams with demanding activity. Our house went on the market and sold in five days. Six weeks later, we packed and moved out of our home and into a nearby apartment. And on top of the real estate shuffle, Larry underwent a sophisticated heart procedure (Watchman Flx Pro Device). In this unusual context of change on steroids, I became a learner.

6 Observations of Change

1. Change steps into our known, dances around, saunters out, and leaves us facing the unknown. In this space of unknown, we feel our greatest degree of humanness.

2. Change reminds us that we are not and never were in control.

3. Change is a reality and the more we resist the harder it will be to adapt; the sooner we accept the change, the more peaceful and productive will be our sphere.

4. Change is saturated with opportunities to learn new lessons and live out old ones.

5. God makes change a beautiful, lifegiving, energizing experience when we release our change into His kind, capable Hands, and ask Him to use it for His glory and our good.

6. “Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Only Jesus will bring stability in my change, through my change, and out of my change.

Perspectives that Help Navigate Change

Just like missteps on the dance floor can result in stumbles, so missteps in the context of change can lead to slips and falls. These perspectives offer balance.

• Embrace change as an ongoing reality in life. Gently tell yourself, “So be it.”

• Consider the view of Julian of Norwich — “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

• Find lifegiving routines to fit into your day, i. e. a devotional, a cup of coffee, a walk, a bath, a good book.

• Seek out the company of fun people for refreshing fellowship.

• Live in the promises of God. A hallmark verse for change is found in Psalm 84:5,7, “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. They go from strength to strength.” (Like wow! Bring it on!)

Prayer: “Lord, please let change change me for better, not for worse. When I want to resist, motivate me to release. When I want to fight, turn my chin to fix my gaze on Your Face. When I want to go back, give me eyes to see You leading me forward in paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake. Amen.”

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

When was the last time you experienced a significant degree of change in your life? What brought it about?

Take a moment and describe how change affects you. Perhaps you feel like the elderly gentleman in the Hallmark movie who said, “Change! Most of the changes I’ve experienced in my life were not wanted.” Or maybe you are energized by the fresh opportunities change brings. What would you say?

What has God taught you as you walk with Him through change?

Mining for Contentment

That elusive word contentment dances like a butterfly right in front of our eyes and then, just when we think we have it captured, the lovely creature escapes. So it seems with contentment. Am I right?

If asked, “What is contentment and how do we achieve it?”, what would be your response? Some say that it is an overall sense of wellbeing; others believe that it is a circumstantial condition which results when the relationships and realities of our lives fuel us with peace and happiness. And, the Bible tells us that contentment is a companion to godliness and the two result in great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6)

It is this picture of great gain that has me captivated.

Daily Strength for Daily Needs, a volume that sits on my nightstand, contains an entry which expands our horizon for this 11-letter word. So powerful is the presentation, I have chosen to commit the content to memory and, also, to share it with you. Please read.

If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:

1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.

2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.

3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.

4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.

5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God’s, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. ‘The Lord will provide.’

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“And this is eternal life, that they may know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

Try to articulate your working definition of contentment.

What is the greatest robber of your contentment?

Which of the five statements above do you want to commit to memory?

Along with the rules suggested, these verses are highlighted: Hebrews 13: 5, “Be content with such things as you have,” and Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith to be content.”

How do possessions and circumstances tend to hold sway over our contentment?

Daily Strength for Daily Needs by Mary W. Tileston, E. B. Pusey, contributor