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Sounds awesome but, what if the waters are self made? What then? What do we do when we find ourselves in the middle of a mess that we created? Those waters can run pretty deep, too.
Life is just messy and none of us are very good at it anyway, even on our best days. I had a bad day yesterday. I don't usually share my bad days, but maybe you had one, too. Just when I thought I was tackling the next thing on my list, interruption interrupted and my choices went downhill from there.
If only I had been prepared for it, right? I hashed, rehashed, and hashed again the situation before me until my time was consumed. Tick. Tock. All of a sudden my day had ended with no solution, much sinfulness, and deep sadness on behalf of another. The thing is...it was not my problem - not really - and I didn't know the source of the problem. (Well, yes I did: It was me.)
I shifted from focusing on what the Lord wanted for me, to what I wanted for me: peace. However, as long as this issue was what filled my head, it became my idol and stood between me and the Lord.
And by the way, the Lord wanted peace for me too, but 'I' felt I needed more information before my peace would come and the Lord's peace was mine for the asking - only my thoughts were held captive by sin.
Most of the time, we do not see pain coming. And sometimes we bring it on ourselves and sometimes it is both. Pain is unavoidable. Good things (or bad things) can grow out of it, but it is up to us to decide our mindset.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
At the end of the day, I repented and prayed and slept in peace. I woke with peace as well. Today is better and though my heart still aches, it is in the Lord's hands - right where I want it. Life is messy. Expect it. If yours involves people as mine does, get ready. I am sure there are times that you and I are someone else's mess and pain.
God never abandons us, even when we our focus is on wrong things that lead us to the destruction of our time, energy, and peace. Gain some wisdom from my bad example.
(You may have thought I was going to give you an answer to your messy life. I did. I even underlined it in red. Go back and read.)
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