It’s a Mindset
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6
Peace. Ahhh. Peace on earth. Even better. Peace in my home. NOT! Oh Lord, let there be peace on earth … and let it begin IN MY HOUSE!
I promise I’ve not been eavesdropping on your conversations with the Lord! I’ve had my own!
In this day and age Christmas is packaged with everything but peace. Some have lots of joy and happiness; others battle through depression and sadness, but few have peace at Christmas. Let me share with you something the Lord showed me.
“Holiday for Her” is our church’s largest women’s ministry event. The first year Debra Spaugh (another ZooKeeper team member) and I were responsible for pulling this monstrosity together, it was an administrative nightmare. We had prayed, planned, prayed and then prayed some more! Everything was coming along better than we’d anticipated, but I woke up on the day of the event in sheer panic. A Scripture came to mind, and though I couldn’t give you the address at the time, I prayed what I remembered: set my mind on life and peace. Almost immediately, the Holy Spirit whispered in my heart, “It’s your job to set your mind. It’s My job to give you life and peace.” It made perfect sense!
So often we ask God to do things for us that He’s called us to do first. We can’t put our lives on auto-pilot and expect to be filled with life and peace. Setting our minds is a discipline. When I’d rather think about everything that could go wrong, I must choose to think about who God is and what He will enable me to do. When I’d rather think about the annoyances that come along with any project, I must choose to think about the blessings and lives that can be changed for all eternity. When I’d rather come up with that perfect sarcastic remark to make my point, I must choose to think good, true, pure and lovely thoughts. When I’d rather think that Christmas is just too much trouble, I must choose to think of ways I can use this season as a springboard for conversations about Jesus. See how this works?
Oh Sister, I completely understand the frustrations this season can bring, but let’s determine to set our minds on the things of the Spirit. Then His job is to give us the life and peace we so greatly desire.
Running the race,
Tami