The last week could be summed up in one word ... Hassle! But was it any more 'hassle-ful' than any other week? I don't think so - or was it how I tackled it? Definately Yes!
Hassle comes from a whole host of sources, some my own making and some the makings of other people ... but wherever the cause of my hassles I have a choice in how I respond to them - that is always my choice!
So what are some of the hassles last week? Losing half a tooth ... (sorted now thanks to Oscar, my Spanish dentist), juggling work between the normal office and home (drop box is great, but you need to remember to put key documents in it.) Snatching moments between dropping one child here, and another there and then finding you don't have the document you need ... good to have Kindle readers and good books on hand! Okay, so really I'm not good at multi-tasking in the way my wife does with such ease!!! Okay ... emails, admin, too! All seem to crowd into the areas of work and life that bring most joy and fulfilment ... so as I say - just the normal run of the mill stuff.
So, in the timely fashion that the reading of scripture always seems to have, I found myself reading in Philippians 4:4-9. In which the Apostle Paul wrote ... 4 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!5 Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!6 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.7 Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.8 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
So what good could that be to you and me in our modern busy lives ... all right for Paul, he didn't have a Blackberry! (Actually, they can be turned off!) Anyway, I digress ... incidentally did you read that burning the candle at both ends, trying to get everything done, increases the risk of heart attack by 50%!! (Daily Telegraph report on recent scientific evidence!)
I have had the opportunity on my trips out recently to travel, and talk, to commuters on early trains and reflected on the folks who move around harassed and hassled every day - the train at 6:15am is full of folk who do not exude 'joie de vivre'! Just what is the point? Intensified by the additional pressures of multiple job-cuts, tax rises, etc etc ... troubled times indeed and my prayers go out to all in this delicate and very difficult position.
So what can this old passage have to say to me and you - should we care to listen. There are three things I need to learn from this as I seek to live in a world where many feel overwhelmed by all that is going on around them ...
Do we all want 'Peace'? That sense of wholeness, and wellbeing, and freedom from inner turmoil? If so read on and reflect!
1/ The Way of peace - In the passage there are imperatives.. things to do ... Rejoice always (no grumbling, only celebration), let your gentleness be evident to all ... and do not be anxious, but pray ... easier said than done sometimes but it really comes down with what is occupying your mind ... pray is such a release in this respect as it occupies your mind in a different direction ... that way you find yourself drawn into ...
2/ The place of peace - brought not by the absence of external turmoil, but by the inner presence of the Holy Spirit who is peace ... and it is He who protects us in the midst of life and provides that sense of God's wholeness over everything ... it is a garrison, and secure place from which we need never leave but we do at times, because we neglect ...
3/ The discipline of peace - by exercising our minds aright, directing it to things that nurture peace, what is it that distracts us rom that process? Root it out and deal with it harshly!
Now having read that last week and made steps to living it out, we come to half-term - not only that but the wifi was down all day in my house ... but there we are. Managed to stay in the right place thus far! (Or rather, my spiritual disciplines means the God of peace is able to keep me, where He wants me to be, and I need to be!!)
Press on!
Hassle comes from a whole host of sources, some my own making and some the makings of other people ... but wherever the cause of my hassles I have a choice in how I respond to them - that is always my choice!
So what are some of the hassles last week? Losing half a tooth ... (sorted now thanks to Oscar, my Spanish dentist), juggling work between the normal office and home (drop box is great, but you need to remember to put key documents in it.) Snatching moments between dropping one child here, and another there and then finding you don't have the document you need ... good to have Kindle readers and good books on hand! Okay, so really I'm not good at multi-tasking in the way my wife does with such ease!!! Okay ... emails, admin, too! All seem to crowd into the areas of work and life that bring most joy and fulfilment ... so as I say - just the normal run of the mill stuff.
So, in the timely fashion that the reading of scripture always seems to have, I found myself reading in Philippians 4:4-9. In which the Apostle Paul wrote ... 4 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!5 Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!6 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.7 Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.8 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
So what good could that be to you and me in our modern busy lives ... all right for Paul, he didn't have a Blackberry! (Actually, they can be turned off!) Anyway, I digress ... incidentally did you read that burning the candle at both ends, trying to get everything done, increases the risk of heart attack by 50%!! (Daily Telegraph report on recent scientific evidence!)
I have had the opportunity on my trips out recently to travel, and talk, to commuters on early trains and reflected on the folks who move around harassed and hassled every day - the train at 6:15am is full of folk who do not exude 'joie de vivre'! Just what is the point? Intensified by the additional pressures of multiple job-cuts, tax rises, etc etc ... troubled times indeed and my prayers go out to all in this delicate and very difficult position.
So what can this old passage have to say to me and you - should we care to listen. There are three things I need to learn from this as I seek to live in a world where many feel overwhelmed by all that is going on around them ...
Do we all want 'Peace'? That sense of wholeness, and wellbeing, and freedom from inner turmoil? If so read on and reflect!
1/ The Way of peace - In the passage there are imperatives.. things to do ... Rejoice always (no grumbling, only celebration), let your gentleness be evident to all ... and do not be anxious, but pray ... easier said than done sometimes but it really comes down with what is occupying your mind ... pray is such a release in this respect as it occupies your mind in a different direction ... that way you find yourself drawn into ...
2/ The place of peace - brought not by the absence of external turmoil, but by the inner presence of the Holy Spirit who is peace ... and it is He who protects us in the midst of life and provides that sense of God's wholeness over everything ... it is a garrison, and secure place from which we need never leave but we do at times, because we neglect ...
3/ The discipline of peace - by exercising our minds aright, directing it to things that nurture peace, what is it that distracts us rom that process? Root it out and deal with it harshly!
Now having read that last week and made steps to living it out, we come to half-term - not only that but the wifi was down all day in my house ... but there we are. Managed to stay in the right place thus far! (Or rather, my spiritual disciplines means the God of peace is able to keep me, where He wants me to be, and I need to be!!)
Press on!
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