Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Conflict”
Our Bible verse for today: “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.” 2 Peter 3:8 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Give God time to resolve the conflict for you.”
This morning I was reading a devotional written by the great devotional writer from the last century, Oswald Chambers. In it he wrote about what he calls “The enormous leisure of God”. He wrote, “Think of the enormous leisure of God! He is never in a hurry. We are in such a frantic hurry.”
That statement reminded me of a lesson my original Pastor and mentor taught me many years ago about conflict in the church. This was during the years that he was getting me ready to serve in the pastoral ministry on my own. His counsel went something like this: “Jim, not every conflict needs to be immediately dealt with. Sometimes the best thing we can do is just hang back, say nothing, and be patient as God does His work. Many times He will resolve the issue for us without us having to do or say anything.”
Over the years since then, I’ve found that to be true more times than I can count. Many times it has turned out that if I would just leave the situation alone God worked it out in His way and in His time. My problem is that it’s not in my nature to just leave things alone. If I see a potential conflict brewing I’m inclined to step into the middle of it and try to do something about it right away. Many times that is the right way to handle it, but sometimes it’s not. This is where spiritual discernment comes in. We must be prayerful and rely on the Spirit to lead us to the right approach.
Unfortunately, the situation is further complicated by the fact that in those cases where God is working it out, He often takes His sweet time about it! This is the “enormous leisure of God” that Chambers wrote about. God is never in a hurry. God has all eternity to work with. So here I am fretting and fuming and practically wetting my pants wanting to jump in and handle it, and God is evidently in no hurry at all!
And yet in those cases where the problem is God’s to handle and not mine, I need to keep my hands off it. Because in the end He will resolve it to His satisfaction and it will be a much better resolution than I could ever have arranged. But again, the key is to know when to get involved and when to just leave it alone. The only answer to that is “spiritual discernment”. Pray about it, seek the Spirit’s leading, and if it seems appropriate, just be still and give God time to work it out.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 