Catalyst

Evil is at work everywhere.

I just read a blog about a woman whose daughter was being bullied at school. This mother was then bullied by the bully momma and daddy at a school function. The tirade that spewed from the offenders was venomous and unwarranted. The comments from the blog readers were supportive, some funny, but many ejected vile judgment toward the bully momma, revealing the evil in residence in their own hearts.

Confrontation, false accusations, evil incarnate raises its ugly head periodically in our lives. But the twist for me is how it is also a mirror into my heart and the hearts of those affected by its scaly reach.

Evil is a catalyst for change, a mirror for revelation.

When a confrontation gets personal, I often react in a spirit of judgment, thereby resisting the opportunity for truth to surface, especially if I feel justified in condemning the one through whom the evil comes, yes, even when it comes through me.

But we are all instruments in God's hands, used to reveal Him. Nothing is wasted or without purpose. When I stop resisting (judging) and allow Him to lead me into His rest, I am free from prejudice and able to receive what He intends to reveal.

So the bully momma, though justifiably spanked by the authorities (there's more to the story than I'll go into here), will have consequences for her actions and perhaps her own opportunity for change. The blogger maintained a degree of grace under fire by not responding to personal attacks but following through on necessary actions to protect the children involved. Lurkers of her blogsite responded in kind on their take of the situation, myself included, mirroring our reactions to evil.

But key in the event, the catalyst that provoked change, was the evil first manifest. The trajectories of everyone's lives were affected, mine also, because it shows me in a real life situation that evil doesn't always result in evil but often is a necessary ingredient to healing.

Who could've seen that coming, the advantages of darkness? God, perhaps?

Yield

Yield. Let God be who He is. Allow Him to reveal Himself without preconceived notions of righteousness. Grace is His covering for all ~ this is where I am spiritually and practically speaking.

I've been thinking lately of how comfortable I am with the idea of our ordered paths in this life. I see the benefits of waiting on Him.

I often try to make Jesus' words my own, to somehow stake a claim on His word, on Him, when in reality, He is at work in claiming me. This perspective brings peace.

I see that impatience leads to deception and I am grateful that He compels me to stop resisting and yield to His lead. Incredible freedom in this adjustment which allows me to see Him in more places/people than I have in the past. Previously, I believed and lived from a perspective of works, but now I function from a place of rest and faith. It's better here.

Because of the encouragement to yield, I am open to other's paths; paths that I would have criticized in my previous ignorance and desire to be "righteous" ~ read "perfect". I never realized how offensive and arrogant I was in believing that others had to believe the way I do or how I participated in making a religion out of Jesus' love.

I am no longer offended by other faiths. I no longer feel challenged to "set someone straight" about God. How arrogant, unloving and unmerciful my thinking was for much of my life. I thought that salvation was somehow tied to works/beliefs, even though I espoused that salvation only comes from Christ. Now I know that righteousness will never come from me but must come from His presence in me.

I do not deny that salvation is found in Jesus - I still believe that. I just see more fully that it is God at work in bringing His word to life in me and others and not the other way around. I am completely at His mercy.

I cannot convey the fullness of my appreciation for God and His perfect plan for creation, His perfect love for all. I see that He is in all things as He continually makes His presence known and felt in unexpected ways.

I am in awe of this one I love.