All You Can Eat Buffet

Photo by Fikri Rasyid on Unsplash

Each morning reading Scripture offers a new experience. The morning, my mood, the Word all converge into a fresh adventure each day. These times refresh me like a satisfying meal. Today, I Peter 5 offers so much advice it felt like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

I'm typing these powerful verses separately so each can be a serving of the Word for us to reflect on today. Enjoy this feast!

• verse 6: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's might hand, that he may lift you up in due time."
• verse 7: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

• verse 8: "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

• verse 9: "Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

• verse 10: "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

The Work of God

An architect lays out plans to peruse. Everyone involved in the project scrutinizes those plans, and they deliberate on aspects that may need to be altered.

God does not work this way.  Jeremiah 29:11 states, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

God has a plan. He is not revealing it to us. This plan to prosper us is unfolding before us. We are to trust the Lord and His Word.

Will every moment of this plan be without sadness or suffering? No, of course not. An interesting sermon recently highlighted verses recorded in John 9 when Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'

Jesus' response gives us a glimpse at how God's plan works: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

"...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

Think of notable figures in Scripture such as Job, Daniel, Moses, Joseph, David, Esther, and Paul, to name a few.

"...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

Think of the ups and downs in each of our lives, and we can gain understanding and hopefully, comfort when we insert these words from John 9:3, "...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."

A Quiet Life?

Is a quiet life possible? Is it an oxymoron? My first instinct was to dismiss the concept, just as my first instinct was to dismiss the Marie Kondo method of "tidying up" when my daughters told me the show was a Netflix must-see.

Part of Marie Kondo's philosophy is the following: "Tidy your space, transform your life."

Let's actually consider these words in light of the following scripture:

"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody." 
~ I Thessalonians 4:11-12

Mulling over this advice with a cup of coffee, it makes sense. I don't have to overschedule and be run ragged to fulfill my purpose. On the contrary, I may actually fulfill my purpose better by keeping calm and taking care of "my own business."

These words from Paul to the Thessalonians share the same message, and they actually go a step further. Tidy your own life, so that you may influence others. (These verses come immediately after Paul complimenting them on their ability to show brotherly love and challenging them to "do so more and more."{verses 9-10})

Having four children, my life may never actually be quiet, but I know that I can certainly do some "tidying" in this area that will benefit not only me, but my family, those around me, and most importantly, my witness for Christ.

Why not give it a try this month? Let's make it our ambition to lead a quiet life.