Peace in the presence of Offence

‘PEACE’ when offence is offered

So much has been happening since I last sat down to ‘write’ (I started to put ‘think’, but that is not quite right.) A few who read might know the situation. In short, we ‘manage’ a farm. Over the years different people needing help were offered that they could stay at the farm until they could get their ‘feet’ on the ground, so to speak. With my former understanding of ‘peacemaker’ – peace at all cost – several ‘civil wars’ (some internal and, sad to say, some boiling over to ‘external’ conflicts with other ‘people’) ensued.

Recently, however, as I have been learning more about some of the concepts of God’s peace and joy I have been also discovering at least a few of the reasons for some of those previous conflicts when we had ‘thought’ we were ‘doing’ what would produce ‘peace’.

I’ll not burden you, the reader, with many of the ‘unpeaceful’ details, but in order to help make sense of what I have just written I will share some recent experiences. And since it has been a highly ‘learning curve’ time for me perhaps sharing may help others as well

Here goes,

A friend of mine broke her leg in December and my husband and I offered to ‘care’ for her animals. Her menagerie includes a horse, two goats, two chickens and her breeder ‘cattery’. During the first couple of weeks after her ‘fall’, it seemed ‘contention’ was 'standard' between her and myself – obvious at times even to others. My ‘perception’ was that almost ‘anything’ I said, especially regarding ‘animal’ care, was ‘wrong’ and needed correcting. At times I was in tears and at one point told her I was ‘quitting’. (The Lord wouldn’t let me.)

One evening as I was ‘complaining’ to the Lord, He asked me something like “Are you worshiping ‘her’ by the way you are ‘acting’ toward her? Oh, no, I thought. But as I pondered I realized its truth. And when I chose to do the animal ‘care’ ‘as unto the Lord’, I experienced His “PEACE”.

A few days ago a ‘problem’ arose in the cattery. In response I began, in my mind, to ‘give all my reasons’. The Lord again asked me a question. “Why are you ‘talking’ to that spirit?” Oh, no! I thought. Then it became clear that the spirit, which had been using another person to destroy my peace with God, no longer needed the ‘person’ for it for it could now talk to me direct to disrupt my ‘peace' relation with God. At that point I claimed God’s power to ‘bind’ the intruding spirit and ‘release’ the Holy Spirit in my life. Again God’s peace returned to my heart.

Another lesson I learned relating to real peace had to do with relationships. I had been pondering how to relate to this friend who seemed not to be in harmony with me. It was brought to my attention that when I respond ‘in kind’ (with the same spirit that the other person is exhibiting) I am actually ‘synchronizing’ with them (instead of their coming into harmony with me) and thus I am ‘opening’ my heart to whatever spirit being 'exhibited', which created ‘civil’ war in my heart. On the other hand, as I choose harmony with God’s ‘heart’, by accepting His will for me as expressed in His promises, including 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear (terrorism), but of (God’s) power and of love (God’s character) and of a sound (not being controlled by another spirit than God’s Spirit) mind”; I am protected in His peace. Does that mean that externally nothing will ‘go wrong’? Probably not. God’s peace has to do with the ‘inside’ me, my heart.

So, when others ‘offer’ contention, need I ‘accept’? Keeping in mind that the war is not against flesh and blood (people) but against spiritual forces is guiding me to choose to ‘stay’ in the mind of Christ. I’m still learning and I also believe I’m experiencing more of the real kind of peace rather than ‘peace at all costs’ previously thought of as ‘peace’.

I need to go feed the cats,
Peace be to you,

Maiden, Bringer of Peace - learning the real thing