Peace on Earth
The older I get the more convinced I am that God not only knows our every thought, He is ordering our days to stir our minds to shape those thoughts to align with His Word (if we are in it) and to use said thoughts for His glory.
My husband recently took a staycation using his remaining vacation days. What we both needed most was rest and for us there is no better place to do this than in our own bed. The luxury of a personal chef would have been nice, but we kept all the chores to a minimum.
One day we did take a road trip to our hometown, which we have been gone from for 25 years. Discussing lunch options, we knew from past experience, some of our favorite spots would pose the quandary of seeing people we used to know and not be able to recall their names.
At this one particular restaurant there was at 15 minute wait and while in the waiting there was a group of 4 ladies also in the wait. I turned to my husband and said, "Look, look! The woman right over there was in your class. What is her name? Oh, and look she's with her mother who has to be in her 90's. Don't you remember? They are a Jewish family. I think her name starts with an 'L"." He had no remembrance.
For the entire waiting period I racked my brain. I really wanted to be able to speak to this person. After lunch, as we were driving back to the lake, we reeled off the names of every Jewish family we knew growing up. I finally did remember the name, but what God was really doing was calling us to pray for all these families and all Jews suffering under such hate right now.
That led to thoughts of the Christmas holidays where we will be entertaining people around the table with different beliefs than ours, politically, faith wise and certainly within our education system. I felt led to begin praying for peace to be kept within the walls of our home and for creative ways to guide the dinner table discussion.
“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Luke 12:51 ESV
God is so amazing! Like I said at the beginning. He knows all our thoughts.
Opening up my email my eyes focused on one from Intercessors for America.
The title of the article was "Effectively Disarming Division."
Here are some exerts.
“Do you dread the conversations that might arise around the Christmas table as you gather with less-often-seen family members and friends? Do those anticipated differences of opinion start to overshadow your joy? Does each such issue seem to straddle a divide so deep and wide that you can barely see those who are “on the other side?
Fellowship with the Father keeps us humble in heart, repentant in spirit, and refreshed in relationship. We can receive grace in our submission to Him, and we can extend that grace when sorely pressed on the divisive issues in the headlines. We can hear from the Lord when we need His direction on some issue or with regard to a confrontation with someone. We can receive wisdom when we need to speak the truth and to saturate it with love. The Lord truly becomes our strength and our salvation when division desires to split our very beings...
Keeping our minds on the mission will help us sort through the distractions — especially the distractions of division. As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with friends and family, we face many issues that are pulling us apart. But our mission rests in the call of each disciple: to bring glory to the Lord, and to share Him with a hurting world. Let’s refuse to play the devil’s game — we have glory, hope, and victory to share!”
Joyce Swingle IFA contributing writer.
https://ifapray.org/blog/effectively-disarming-division/
The Song
“Somewhere in Your Silent Night” by Casting Crowns
