God is not the author of confusion,
But of peace.
1 Corinthians 14 and 33.
This simple scripture alone can help us discern if something is true or not.
It is the foundation of truth.
There can be no peace where there is unsure ground.
Sometimes we believe that temporary escapes will fill us with peace.
Escapism never gets to the root of the issues we are dealing with,
And moving from place to place will never assure us peace.
We will never have peace looking in other things,
People,
Or places.
It needs to come from our Creator.
Peace can move with you when you find it in Christ rather than seeking it in other areas.
This produces peace under pressure.
Pressure does not mean that you cannot have peace.
Peace is not just something you are supposed to get occasionally,
But a permanent state we live in through the Holy Spirit.
We can be at peace knowing that we never have to go through anything alone.
We have an Advocate with us and within us.
Peace is a foundational,
Soul level knowing that our Creator has everything under control and that He will work every situation out for our good.
Peace also stems from what we allow into our minds,
Hearts,
And bodies.
What we ingest,
We produce.
There is a Creator designed order and purpose in life and throughout all of nature.
We do not need to be concerned with how life and creation will fall into place.
This is not our responsibility.
The one who knows the cycles and ebbs and flows of life's waters is in control.
Wrestling for control with our Creator creates a turbulence in place of progress and growth.
Sometimes the first step is quieting ourselves.
Giving gratitude and praise where it is due and turning our face towards the sun,
Finding strength through resilience after the storm.
James 1.
17 says,
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,
Coming down from the Father of lights.
Goodness is not a quality we can manufacture on our own.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives,
We are able to more clearly see the goodness of God.
This certainly includes a life characterized by goodness.
In letting the Holy Spirit control us,
We are blessed with the fruit of goodness.
When we question God,
This does not change His character or make Him any less good.
God is good all the time.
His faithfulness has no end.
Sometimes we hear the argument,
Why does God allow fill in the blank to happen?
Or how can God be good if there is cancer,
Famine,
Disease and heartbreak?
From the very beginning of time we were given choice as humans,
Free will.
This is the ability to choose walking in a way that will produce life or lead to death of the Spirit.
The thing is,
All of our actions have consequences,
Whether good or bad,
And everything that we choose affects one another,
If not directly,
Then indirectly through a course of events.
God did not create sickness and He does not punish people with evil.
He does not delight in sorrow and sadness,
Rather He mourns and carries our sadness with us.
It is not a matter of Him allowing evil into our lives and sitting back and doing nothing about it,
But rather a result of free will abused and darkness entering the world.
We are promised that God is close to the broken hearted and sits with us in our suffering.
Getting to a place where we truly understand that God is good at a heart level helps to produce the fruit of goodness in our own lives.
When we allow the Holy Spirit to move in us and do work in our hearts,
The Holy Spirit helps us to see the goodness of God more clearly.
It then begins to spill over into how we treat others.
Goodness towards others is the act of ministering love.
Psalm 34,
I sought the Lord and He answered me.
He delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to Him are radiant,
Their faces are never covered with shame.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them.
The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them.
He delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Gentleness can tend to be such a far thought from our minds in this culture.
There's a lot of toughness that is portrayed and emitted due to many people suffering abuse of different kinds.
We are not careful with the hearts of those around us because we are so often on the defense.
But there is strength in gentleness.
It is a sort of restrained power without undue harshness.
Being gentle is not so much what we do,
But how we do things.
It is how we live and treat others,
Having a gentle spirit is one that brings peace to those around you.
It is a form of being humble.
It puts others first.
It takes a lot of vulnerability to be gentle,
But it is truly transforming.
It is impossible to muster up gentleness on our own.
So turning to the truth is our only option.
We do not know how to show ourselves gentleness in most cases,
And this limits us when we are trying to be gentle with others.
If we can grasp our Creator's limitless compassion on us,
We can more easily accept our identity in Him.
This allows His love and gentleness to flow through us.
We forget that God is waiting for any and every opportunity to rain down His overwhelming compassion on us.
He is just,
And He is good.
When gentleness is put into practice,
Surreal things start to occur.
The gentleness of vulnerability helps to dissolve shame.
Shame is one of those things that paralyzes mentally,
Emotionally,
Spiritually,
And sometimes even physically.
There are,
However,
Life-changing benefits to the offering of gentleness in a situation where shame may be present.
Providing a compassionate response to the shame that someone else may be feeling has a ripple effect.
Shame is powerless when it is revealed.
Gentleness creates a space of security for vulnerability to thrive.
Through vulnerability,
We are able to become even more authentic and come to terms with the issues in our lives that need attention.
An authentic life is a life lived in complete alignment with our inherent purpose.
Gentleness goes such a long way,
Especially when there are so many of us carrying unseen burdens.
A soft,
Understanding response can change the course of our day,
Week,
Or even year.
When we openly receive the gentleness of our Creator,
We are like a jar that fills to the brim with oil.
Since our Creator's gentleness and goodness has no end,
We overflow and are able to pour into others' lives.
Gentleness develops a soul that is truly at rest.
