She stands there with fists clenched and eyes narrowed as her teeth grit out the word no. It's a simple request that doesn't suit her schedule and we stand there with wills locked and eyes clashing.
Even in the beauty of a sun drenched day, there is a warring. A constant striving to prove that I'm right or he's wrong or she has no idea what she is talking about.
And then that coin flips and I'm not going to forgive, I'm going to build this wall - I'm going to keep them out and you at a distance and if there is a battle to be won or fought or lost, I'm going to enter in. I will do anything to keep myself safe.
I have forgotten, over and over, when emotions are high and tension pulls taut that the battle, the main one in the places I can't see, has already been won.
I've already fought. I've already won, He whispers, so just be still.
Political climates can tip precariously and leave the air uncertain, a child (or parent) can wake up exhausted from unrelenting dreams and the cloud above them heaves dark and foreboding,
A fight can be just waiting to happen.
But as the unrest circles and presses in close, when temptation to take up arms seems like the more productive and right thing to do,
step back and wait.
The striving your flesh wants to do already has a Victor in the work of Jesus Christ. He fought the battle. He conquered sin and His grace, His favor is sufficient for you. For this day. For this time.
Just be still.
Adoring:
You are God and You have already won the greatest battle that needed to be fought and that victory still spills over into every area if only I would stop huddling over the broken places that pride has convinced me I need to win. Your victory fills in the sin-gaps and You ask me to only be still - to believe in Your work on the cross and Your resurrection from the dead; in You alone, my salvation is sure. You fight for me and even if the broken places still crumble, they crumble in the presence of Mighty God and I can know and be assured that one day, my eyes will see and I will know and finally understand. I can rest and I can be still.
