Guarded

All across social media last week, I watched people discussing Hatfields and McCoys. I didn’t watch it, but I come from a long line of us and them–we versus they. So I got it.  Division is a master plan of the enemy in our families, our churches, friendships, neighborhoods, politics and so many other venues.

It is Satan’s simplest tactic.  Pull one person aside, make them feel like an outsider, then get both sides to create their teams.  So the enemy has little work to do–with the in-fighting, we do all the heavy work ourselves.

It is killing us.

We cannot function at our highest level, the greatest potential God intended, because we are always concerned about what they might say or do. It is eating up our spirits with depression, guilt and anxiety. So what shall we all do about it? How can we become over-comers?

First thing we need to do is keep short accounts with others.  In areas where misunderstanding becomes the petri dish, we must go directly to the source and treat the illness with humility, kindness, truth and love. Pray. Speak to the situation. Pray.  Speak to the ones in it. Pray. Speak it all with love. Pray. Cover the situation with forgiveness.

Perhaps you have done this, and it didn’t go well.  I understand.  There are times when it is impossible to work through a situation with words. Get thee back to thy prayer closet. Pray it through.  Pray about it daily.  Bring all of it to God.

Then God will show you the next course of action.  It may be that you bring a witness along and try again.  It may be that you should not.  He will show you the way to take.

One of the best lessons for me from this spring has been from Cynthia Heald.  She said that when God is giving you correction or showing you a course of action in any situation, He will give you the steps to take. When it is the enemy’s voice, he will accuse and accuse and accuse you, but will offer you no solutions, no healthy course of action (perhaps vengeance?), but will leave you feeling helpless and hopeless.

I know this. It has driven me for years–guilt, shame, accusation, but NO healthy steps to take, NO healing. It has affected my health, my relationships and even my own joy. Oh now, that is the stamp of the enemy–he is a JOY-STEALER.

But this spring, I have found healing, as I have given it all to God.  I am learning to watch and pray.  I am beginning to walk in response to God’s correction.  I am finding freedom in areas, which have long been bound!

It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free! So we can stand in the shadow of the cross, fully free, fully forgiven, fully alive.

Are there still areas in my life needing healing?  Of course!  There is also brokenness and mourning over lost relationships. Sometimes, the pain hits like a knife. It may even take a few days for the pain to ease.  But I take that pain–all of it–to my Healer, my Heavenly Father.  And as the tears course down my face, I tell Him again that I love Him.  I trust Him.  I rely on Him–with Hope!–for the future.

So this morning, as I began seeing division grow within our own little family.  I took that situation to the mat. It was HARD.  But it was the best conversation and in-working of healing I have ever seen.  Honestly, I’m still pretty worn out from it.  But I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  For when division begins, we must nip it in the bud.

A divided house will not…can not…stand. We must guard our hearts, our words, our judgments–and we must begin to let healing rain come to our homes, our churches, our friendships and our nation. It begins with us–and YES, it is very hard.  But it’s worth it.  Oh, it is SO worth it.

Watching and Praying,

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