I used to be one of those people who believed that all you needed to do was stay passive if you wanted peace. I thought that if I stayed in neutral territory, the enemy would leave me alone; people wouldn’t bother me, and my life would be rosy. I honestly thought that if I didn’t do anything obvious to rock the boat, things would work out in the end. Unfortunately, I can look back at many wasted years of my life where passivity ruled and inner peace did not. The only fruit of those years was moral decay and hopelessness.
There is a lie that many Christians believe. They believe that if they keep their head down low and stay under the radar, the enemy will think they aren’t that dangerous and will go after another target. In reality, the enemy is an opportunistic thief. If you leave your doors and windows open, he will come in; he will steal and destroy. In his own twisted way, I would imagine he is grateful to those who don’t resist him.
John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
If you want peace, you’re going to have to fight for it. And the battlefield takes place in your heart. It will take a concerted effort on your part, especially if you have allowed passivity to gain a stronghold.
It won’t be an easy battle, especially if you’ve become used to inertia.
It might appear daunting and foolish to expect that such a mountain will topple just by your persistent and active faith. I guarantee you; it will budge. After all, you’ll have God on your side, and He’ll be the one doing most of the pushing.
“In the beginning of a process working toward the tipping point, gravity is working against you. As you continue to work toward the tipping point, what was working against you is now working for you. Imagine several people seeking to flip over an automobile. As they begin to lift, gravity works against them, but they expect it! But they press through the resistance knowing IF they continue, they’ll push pass the window of resistance to the tipping point, where the momentum is now unstoppable! The key is not to quit at the point where gravity is working against you, knowing that there is a point where that same force is now working for you!” – Joseph Garlington.
Resisting passivity will cost you! The cost might come in the middle of the night as you’re tossing and turning and fretting about situations in your life that you think you have no control over. You’ll feel the tug of the Holy Spirit to get out of bed and find a quiet spot to pray rather than fret. Think of it this way; if you are going to be awake, you might as well spend time with Him! Pour out your fears, and what-ifs, frustrations and doubts. You won’t shock God! But then, take the same amount of time you spent pouring out your troubles to God to sit quietly in His presence. Put on worship music, meditate on a scripture passage. Expect Him to respond! Stay in that place until peace settles into your heart. It could take minutes, or it could take hours, but it is worth it.
When the temptation arises to fall back into old patterns, resist!
When you make a stand, it might feel as if you’ve detonated a bomb in the middle of your peaceful world. However, if you are honest with yourself, you probably will admit that chaos was always just under the surface in your supposed peaceful world. Your lack of response only allowed chaos to fester in the darkness.
I promise you once your inner chaos is exposed to the light, it will eventually dissipate. It will have nothing to feed on.
As you learn to speak and pray with the authority Christ gave you through His death and resurrection, you will also learn to discern between the voice that leads you to active peace and the voice that attempts to lull you into fatalistic passivity. Eventually, Christ’s peace will reign and rule in your heart, and from that foundation of blessed assurance, you carry that peace into your home, city, nation, and world.
“A real man [woman] is one who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward, God’s reward.” – Dr. Robert Lewis
ATTENTION: Zoom meetings are currently on a Summer schedule
Every Second Monday – our next meetings will be on July 19, August 2, August 16, and August 30. In September. the day might switch depending on the school schedule for me. Stay tuned.
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©2021 Katherine Walden