PEACEMAKER
When life slows and the dust settles we often don’t know what to do with ourselves.
We don’t know how to act in the absence of tasks.
We don’t know how to abandon performance for rest.
We don’t know how to thrive in silence.
We feel paralyzed. We feel powerless. And finally, we feel pressure to get a move on.
We have forgotten the art of being still.
If this season of silence has unearthed a mountain of anxiety in you then maybe it is time to confront your thought patterns and begin again.
Let’s kick our default reactions & assumptions about “being still” to the curb and build a new thought.
Building Blocks
A thought is simply a road we take to get us to someplace we wish to go. So, if your thoughts have led you to a place you do not like then you can simply choose a new one! If you find yourself in a dark valley then chances are some toxic thoughts carried you there. The brilliant news is that we do not need to stay there! You can choose a new thought pathway that will advance you. You are that powerful!
Here is a life-altering truth, you don’t have to believe every thought that comes into your head! Your thoughts don’t choose you, you must choose your thoughts! Your thoughts do not have power over you, instead, you must have power over your thoughts! Leading your thoughts and emotions is the only way to live a purposeful life!
Rethinking Silence
How can we intentionally build healthy thought patterns during this global lockdown?
First, redefine the way you look at your current situation. Instead of feeling paralyzed look at this unparalleled global shut down as an opportunity to reconnect, revive, & rest!
Reconnect
Some of you are feeling paralyzed and stagnant. You’re trembling in the stillness. Because you are being forced to face things you have been running from. This is terrifying because we exhaust ourselves with tasks and noise so we can avoid reality. Others among us feel spent and empty from the fast pace of life.
No matter what camp you hail from, there is incredible grace at this moment for you to come face to face with who you are. Right here in this moment. No noise. No distractions. No avoidance. Just you.
Our generation is living in an unbelievable historical experience where we all have come to a complete halt during Covid19. It’s a global moment of stillness. All the distractions and all the voices are hushed and you get to hear yourself think.
Let’s not take this stillness lightly. Breathe fresh air into those lungs. Reconnect with your heart. Strategize with God. And learn to celebrate yourself again!
You are in a time of AWAKENING!
King David had to awaken from a dark season. His depression began as one of his sons betrayed him, attempted to assassinate him, and overthrow his reign. When his son died in action David was faced with all of his personal failings as a father and his heart broke. When we face our own shame or fear there is a temptation to disengage. This is what David did. He shut himself up in a dark room and mentally checked out as he grieved. But there came a moment of breakthrough where a man of God spoke to him, “David, get back in the gate!” The gate was the courtroom where Israel assembled to present their petitions to the king. The gate was his place of destiny. The gate was his place of authority.
I speak to your soul, “Wake up! Reconnect with the destiny God has designed for you. Get back in the gate God has assigned to you! Stop allowing disappointment to derail you and engage with the life right in front of you! Your awakening is what the world has been desperately expecting! Now is the time for a Great Global Awakening!”
Revive
Our world is falling apart, but we will stay standing. Not because we have strength but because we dug a deep foundation in the Rock of Ages. He has greater things to come! And He is on the move!
We have something which our world longs for - a Giver of peace! We have the source for all assurance. We can rest easy because He watches over us!
“He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and He will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse. His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you. You can run under His covering of majesty and hide. His arms of faithfulness are a shield keeping you from harm.” (Psalm 91:3-4, TPT)
You are guarded on all sides by the Peacegiver. You have received generously & now you get to give generously! You have locked into the source of peace so now you are empowered to be a peacemaker.
In the middle of a shattered world, a peacemaker has a different story to tell. A peacemaker is filled with a holy danger, laughing at the thought of failure. They fight the good fight without curving under pressure. They search for darkness because they carry the light! They revive nations, cities, homes, and souls. They see the greater things that God has hidden away to be unlocked and freely given. They carry the solutions to desperate situations because God has made them carriers of good news! When people meet a peacemaker they experience the tangible presence of the Peacegiver!
You are a PEACEMAKER!
A peacemaker does not wait for peace to come to them by accident. They run out and create it with the peace they have been given! Just as a spark of fire can be fanned into flame peace can be multiplied in the right hands! Our world is in desperate need of people who will light up a blaze in the dark. People who will create unity, joy, and hope as a response to the pushback of life. Now is the time for you to be bold, powerful, and rise above the mayhem and build peace. You are a breaker of strongholds of fear and builder of houses of hope! You were made for this very moment. The fact that you are alive today is proof that God placed something in you that this generation needs! You hold the answer to the problems around you because you carry the Spirit of God within you!
Rest
For some, Covid19 may be the most intense thing they have ever experienced. But I want to remind you of how God stood by so many throughout history and delivered them through much worse! Take comfort that the One Who loves you is the One Authoring your story!
Remember the words of St. Patrick as his world caved in and Druids hunted him for his faith -
“Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.”
There is NO WEAK SIDE to your walk with God! God has got your back!
The only striving you and I are commanded to do is to enter into our Father’s rest.
May we learn to reconnect with the life in front of us, stir up a blazing fire of revival, and rest in our Father’s covering. May we be known as peacemakers!
Do you have a story to tell of how God has rescued you in this season? How are you building peace right now? Let’s stir up expectations with stories of how God has come through for you!
Love, Laurel