2 Corinthians 10:5 — Faith — Stylin' Granny Mama

Last week I started a short series on the idea of finding peace in the midst of these chaotic times. I looked at words Jesus spoke to His disciples from John 16:33 and pointed out six different important points from the verse: Jesus’ words had a purpose; He wants us to have peace; our peace is directly connected to Him; we will have trouble in this world; we can take courage; and Jesus has overcome the world.

This week I want to focus on why we, so often, don’t have peace even when we are Christ followers. Remember from John 16:33 Jesus said, “…so that in Me you may have peace…” By using the word “may” it is clear we have a choice, otherwise I believe the verse would have been written, “…you will have peace…” Tapping into Jesus’ peace, or into the Prince of Peace is a choice of our will.

I could probably write another whole series on why we don’t have peace, but to keep it to just a few blog posts I want to simply paint a broad brush stroke by focusing on: the mind, the emotions and the body.

The Mind. I think it is obvious to most of us that we have much more information filling our minds today than we did even 20 years ago. It’s not just that we have access to more, but that there are so many other voices to listen to. There are times I feel there is a demonic element to social media and all its tentacles, but I will save that for another post. For the purposes of this post I want to delve into the ideas of alignment and focus.

The question we have to ask ourselves is who or what am I aligning myself with, and is that producing the soil of peace in my life. The Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments has guidelines on association. In the book of Joshua, the people of Israel are told to not associate with the nations in the Promised Land that they were going into.

“6 Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
7 so that you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them.
8 But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. ”

— Joshua 23:6-8 (NASB 1995)

Proverbs 20:19 tells us to not associate with gossips. Proverbs 22:24 tells us to not associate with those who are given to anger, or hot tempered. The whole book of Proverbs is a how-to on relationships and how to live in a godly manner.

In the New Testament Paul tells us not to associate with immoral people, but he is not talking about immoral people out in the world: the clerk at the grocery store, your employer, the friend you have had since grade school. Paul is talking about immoral people who are in the church and who are claiming to follow Christ. We can’t live in this world and not associate with people who don’t know Jesus. They are everywhere and some of them are in our own families. As Paul said, “…for then you would have to go out of the world.” (I Corinthians 5:9-13.)

In addition we need to look at what philosophies, schools of thought, teachings, etc. we are aligning ourselves with. There is nothing wrong with reading, listening to, discussing ideas that are not Biblical. We are taught evolution in school from elementary school up. We read fiction books for entertainment and watch movies like Harry Potter. However, this is not to be our main focus.

Focus involves zeroing in on something. When we are focused, our attention is pointed to something specific. As Paul tells us in the verses below we are meant to “fix our eyes on Jesus.”

“1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

— Hebrews 12:1-2 (NASB 1995)

To put it plainly, we are not to buy into the things the world wants to sell us. For every person we listen too, and every article we read, and every song we hear we have to take its message back to God’s word. We have to have Holy Spirit clarity on each and every message we hear, because as the verses below states, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.”

The world says marriage is optional. The world says same sex love is okay. The world says gender not sex. The world says abortion rights are more important than the children being aborted. The world says Jesus came to preach love. When you take these things to Scripture that is not what we see.

Now, let me take a moment to say, if I decide to spend more time listening to pod casts about these topics, or I focus on what I don’t agree with in Scripture I will, after a while begin to doubt and question truth. I will begin to ask, “Whose truth is it? Who has a right to dictate truth? Isn’t truth what I make of it? I can’t trust your version of truth because it doesn’t line up with my choices and desires.” These ideas become the speculations and lofty things that are raised up against the knowledge of God. Thus the importance of “…taking every thought captive.” Not just captive, like wild horses in a corral, but captive “…to the obedience of Christ.”

“5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, ”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB 1995)

How does all of this affect our peace? To finish out this post on the mind let’s look at a few verses from the Psalmist.

“I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
But let them not turn back to folly.”

— Psalm 85:8 (NASB 1995)

“165 Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.”

— Psalm 119:165 (NASB 1995)

When we fill our minds with God’s words we have peace. He says it is so, and His word is truth.

Finally, look at this verse.

“6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”

— Romans 8:6 (NASB 1995)

It cannot be any clearer than that. If we set our mind on the Spirit, and all the knowledge the Spirit gives us through God’s word we will have peace.

Next week we will look at our emotions and how they can keep us from experiencing God’s peace. Have a great week!

Events over the last week have left many people feeling disappointed. We all know disappointment. We have all been introduced to that feeling of being let down, overwhelmed and done in. Disappointment is part of our lives. Who hasn't felt the frustration of difficult relationships or the strain of hardships at work or in the home? Who hasn't found themselves looking with anticipation to an exciting event only to be let down that it wasn't what we had hoped?

There are present disappointments, the kind that we face daily. There are also presumed disappointments. These are the ones that we believe will happen just by the mere fact that life continues to move forward. Disappointment can lead down a path of greater difficulty.

I'd like to devote this post to looking at two ideas. The first is that disappointment breeds disappointment. The second is to think about things we can do to combat disappointment.

Disappointment breeds Disappointment:

1. Dwelling on the disappointment. Putting too much thought into anything isn't necessarily healthy. Even good things can become distractions in our thought life, causing us to become less productive and even depressed. When bad things happen, we must go through a process of digesting them and learning to cope with them. That is healthy. However, continuing to focus on our sadness, our struggle or our worry over the future, is not healthy.

2. Laying blame. We all want to ascribe blame. It is my husband's fault that I did this. It's my kid's fault that happened. It's my boss's fault that I lost my job. Think through your day. Who did you blame today? That bad driver who cut you off? That slow cashier at the grocery store? The lazy waiter at the restaurant? Notice how I added an adjective before each of those people, bad, slow, lazy. It had to be someone's fault that I had a crummy day! Or could it have been, I didn't get up early enough to get to work on time without racing? I could have made a list when I went to the grocery store earlier in the week when I had time, so I didn't forget that one item I needed to cook dinner....and why doesn't my spouse ever take me out to dinner? Maybe the waiter at the restaurant had one too many customers like me, disappointed and grumpy!

3. Letting disappointment turn into something more fierce and controlling, such as anxiety or anger. Disappointment, as I said before is a natural part of life. While being occasionally anxious or angry is also normal, these feelings should not continue unchecked. Anxiety is basically a fight or flight response that will not turn off. If you have ever had a panic attack you know what I mean. Anger and the subsequent damage it can do to our own health or the health of others is also an emotion that is not meant to be the norm.

By allowing the three above mentioned processes take root in our lives we enter into a vicious cycle of disappointment breeding, not only disappointment, but other emotions such as anxiety and anger, which in turn can affect our health and the health of those around us.

Now let me turn to the idea of how to handle disappointment.

For the one feeing the disappointment:

1. Don't dwell there.

“ We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,”

— 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NASB)

You have heard me harp on this before, but I only keep bringing it up, because I know it to be true. We are the only ones who have control over our minds. We can let disappointment rule us, or we can take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. Even if you are not a Christ follower, you have control over your mind. If you dwell on all that is hard, sad, or bad, you will feel overwhelmed, discouraged and worn out! There are so many beautiful things to dwell on, from the beauty of creation to the lovely feel of climbing into a nice warm bed or eating a delicious meal.

2. Don't blame. Blame is not going to make the problem go away or get better. Be proactive. Find a way to make a difference in your home, in your job, in your community and yes even in your nation. My mother-in-law is a a big proponent of calling her elected officials, asking questions and stating her concerns. If enough people were actually doing that sort of thing, you can bet it would make a difference. Even if you don't see results immediately, you can know that you are doing what you can to make a difference. Being proactive takes away the feeling that you have been hurt or disappointed and gives you power.

3. Don't let deeper emotions take root. While anxiety and anger are just as normal as feeling disappointed, these emotions when left unchecked can result in much deeper trauma, not only to you personally, but to those you act out on. If you feel that you are heading down a road of being overly anxious or angry about a situation, find a good counselor, pastor or friend to talk to. Even making small adjustments in your lifestyle can make a difference in your attitude. When I am anxious I quote scripture, listen to music or go for a walk. When I am overly angry, I do deep breathing, letting the anger go as I breath out.

For those dealing with disappointed people:

Even if you are not the one dealing with disappointment you probably know others who are. You can be a light in their life and help them through the difficulty they are going through.

1. Acknowledge their disappointment. Don't say, "Get over it!" or "I don't understand why you feel that way." You may not understand, but the point is to be understanding. Let them talk, and try to understand where they are coming from.

2. Use your own experiences with disappointment to have empathy.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

— Matthew 5:7 (NASB)

You'd be surprised how extending mercy can build bridges and break down walls! Your willingness to have compassion and mercy on someone who is struggling with disappointment could be the very image of Christ that person needs to see.

3. Give of your time. Sometimes people just need a friend to help them over the disappointment. Invite them out for lunch. Ask them to go for a walk with you. Get some fun movies to watch together, preferably something not controversial. If they are willing, pray with them. Let them see you are a real friend, one who has also experienced disappointments. Be open and honest.

I hope if you are reading this and you are experiencing disappointment that you will find some encouragement here. I also hope those of you who are not struggling right now, will extend your hand in kindness and compassion towards one who is.

Peace in the Chaos - Part 2a - If I am Following Christ, Why Don't I Have Peace? - The Mind

The Drudgery of Disappointment