It's a gloriously lazy Saturday here in GA, and darnit, I just felt a blog coming on in the midst of my quiet time this morning.
Psalm 34:14 says, "Depart from all evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue it!"
Most of us don't have an issue with the craving peace part. Who doesn't WANT peace in their lives? But how many of us are truly PURSUING peace? I know I want me some peace, ya'll. I look for it--admittedly not always in the right places. I ask God for it rather frequently, too. But when I really stop and think--What am I myself doing to PURSUE it--well, that's a different story altogether.
I read a lot of Joyce Meyer stuff. And when I say a lot, I mean...A LOT. She's good, folks. She's real good. And one of the things she says is to "Pursue peace with God, myself and others." So this morning I made a list. I started to think through what it would mean in my own life to pursue peace with God, myself and others. I thought about the significance of the fact that, unless my circumstances in life are bright and rosy ALL THE TIME (which they never will be), peace is NOT going to just fall into my lap. I thought about ALLLLLL the situations in life in which it's a DECISION to be peaceful.
Before I share (some of) my list, let's just take a timeout and talk about traffic. You who know me (or have been a passenger in my vehicle for more than 30 seconds) know that I. HATE. TRAFFIC. MORE. THAN. ANYTHING. EVER. I can think of VERY few things in my entire life that have made me angrier than traffic. We've all been there.
But in recent months, I've realized that the ONLY person who is really harmed by my getting THAT upset in traffic is me. It's just a dumb thing to let steal my peace. Some days it's easier than others to try to put a positive spin on it. "Maybe I'm being protected from getting in an accident." "This traffic is the result of a horrible wreck; I'm so thankful that I wasn't in a wreck." "Good thing my sweet Husband is making dinner tonight, and I can just walk in the door, accept the glass of wine he hands me, and stuff my face."
I will never like traffic. No one ever will. But I can choose not to let it steal my peace, because it's not worth it. I've found that if I just pick a lane and sit in it--I'm infinitely more peaceful than when I try to bounce back and forth to whatever lane is moving one iota faster than the one I'm in. I'll get there eventually. God has a good plan for my life.
So back to my list. What will it really look like in my life if I pursue peace with God, myself and others? Here are some snippets:
Pursuing peace with God means....
- Putting Him first every day
- Awareness of His presence moment-by-moment
- Looking beyond my circumstances (good or bad)
- Believing He has a good plan for me
My ultimate goal in this is to keep looking upward rather than inward. This doesn't mean to ignore my own self--I can't very well do that. But it does mean to live outside of myself as much as possible. Sometimes, I'm kind of a crappy thing to focus on! Lucky for me, I can always place my focus elsewhere.
Pursuing peace with myself means....
- Learning to see myself as God sees me
- Not speaking negative things about myself
- Giving up control/letting go
- Focusing on positive thoughts
- Refusing to bow to emotions
We've all heard the saying "You're your own worst critic" because it's true. Perhaps especially for women. We're constantly comparing ourselves with others, and finding "proof" that we really aren't good enough, or <insert another adjective here> enough. But God doesn't see those awful things. He sees His own glorious creation. There is a way to love yourself and see yourself the way God sees you without being arrogant or proud. In fact, I believe that's what He wants for us. All this beating ourselves up has got to stop. Look around you, and look at all the people in your life that LOVE YOU (God included). They ALL think you're pretty great. I don't want to be so hard on myself. I can always forgive myself, and try again tomorrow. If I fall into the trap of believing lies about myself, it will steal my peace.
Last, but not least, pursuing peace with others means...
- Being helpful and generous with my time
- Being a cheerful listener
- Being an encourager
- Not placing expectations on others
- Learning to see people as God sees them
- Refusing to judge--that's God's job
If I said I never judged someone, or placed unfair expectations on them, I'd be a horrible liar. But when I begin to study what God says about ME, I begin to realize that He treasures ME. What's more, he treasures YOU and everyone else I might cross paths with. Why would I choose to see people any differently than GOD does? Sounds pretty dumb when I put it that way. So, the next time Husband leaves the door unlocked all night, or someone ditches me, or shows up late, or disappoints me--I have a choice. We can't choose what people will do, but we can choose how we react.
So, yeah. That's what has been on my mind this morning. It's truly a wonderful feeling to release myself from the pressure of getting things right every time; I'm getting it right MORE of the time than I used to, and that's progress. I love knowing that I WILL screw up, but that doesn't change who I am or what's in my heart. I can always try again tomorrow (or later today!).
HUGS,
S
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