I have to be honest and say that a lot of times I don’t bring peace into situations. I’m learning to submit my worries to God but this is still a challenge. I’ve never been the type to just let things go but this is an incredible benefit in our relationship with God that few take advantage of. I’m working through the 70 resolutions of Jonathan Edwards and his 66th resolution was,

Resolved, That I will endeavour always to keep a benign aspect, and air of acting and speaking, in all places, and in all companies, except it should so happen that duty requires otherwise.

He is saying that he wants to be a gentle person except in the times that he has to be more forceful. I would not describe myself as a gentle person although I would like to be. I can think of a couple of gentle guys in my life and I enjoy being around them. They are strong and absolutely have the ability to be forceful but wisdom has taught them how to be gentle as well. It’s so refreshing being around them. They are relaxed and bring that peace into the lives of those that they’re in relationship with.

We live in a stressed out culture that is anything but benign. People bustle around from one activity to the next without even so much as a thought about relaxing. Sure, we try to factor in vacations and times to rest but it’s not a part of our regular rhythm. We pride ourselves on how “busy” we are but somehow we have mistaken “busyness” for “productivity.” Productivity has less to do with what we do and more to do with the manner in which we do things.

My prayer for all of us is that we would find peace. That we could be agents of peace in our homes, in our workplaces and in every environment that we find ourselves in. I would expound on this idea more but I have to hurry onto the next thing 🙂 I do want to pray for us though…

God, I lift up our hearts to you. Give us peace. Reveal any lies that we may be believing that cause tension, worry, anxiety and fear. Fill us with your Spirit and enable us to be agents of peace in a world that lives in anxiety. Teach us the difference between busyness and productivity. Heal our hearts, our minds and our bodies as we surrender our hearts to you.

Amen

Chris