Hi guys!
I just wanted to pop on and share a really quick word with you. And I hope it will bless you and strengthen your walk with the Lord.
I just came back from a women’s weekend with my church and it was so, so good. All the ladies got together and stayed at a rental house and we watched the online Designed for Life conference. It’s the James River Church women’s conference that they host every year and usually it’s done at their main campus, but obviously because of COVID they couldn’t do it in person this year. So they held it online and we all got away from our kids and daily life distractions to watch and it was so awesome!
During the conference Robert Madu was preaching on being offended. That message was fire. And as he was preaching I was thinking about how funny it is the things we get worked up about. “My friend bought her eyeliner from another person” or “she didn’t compliment my shoes” or “she waited three hours to reply to my text message.” Now, those are extremely petty examples. I’m not saying they don’t happen, I’m just saying those would be the tiniest things to get worked up about. But people do it, right?!
The thing is we have a choice. Can you imagine what the world would be like if all the Karens and all the Kyles put their energy into things that actually mattered? If we stopped getting upset over every little thing and actually got upset over the big things? Like human trafficking? Like the homeless? Like starving children? If we put that frustration into action for people who don’t know Christ? So my question to you today is this; what are you WILLING to be worked up about? What are you allowing yourself to be worked up about? Because, yes, friends, when you get worked up or upset about something, you are allowing it.
When you get offended about something that doesn’t really matter, you’re giving away your energy. You’re giving it away to something that isn’t going to change anything, make anyone’s life better, or further a cause. Your energy is precious. Is that really how you want to spend yours? Being upset and offended about the little things? Doing so will leave you mentally and emotionally exhausted.
There are definitely things that you have a right to be upset about and things that you should give your energy to. Not everything should be ignored, but we have to learn to use discernment regarding what battles we're willing to fight and what we're willing to let go. I bet if you have children there are battles you have long ago decided to let go. Minuscule things that will not make a difference in the grand scheme of raising littles. Your every day world is the same! Be careful about the battles you choose to fight! Make sure they’re important. Make sure that your focus is correct when you choose to expend that engery. I’m telling you what, my morning coffee calories better be going towards something important!
I want to leave you with some Bible verses to ponder. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Romans 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.”
Finally, a very powerful one is Proverbs 19:11, “Sensible people control their temper, they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.”
Shouldn’t it be our goal to overlook little offenses and look towards removing the true obstacles in our world? Repay the nasty with niceties. Next time you feel like you’ve been wronged and you want to spend your precious energy on that, I want you to ask yourself, Am I Willing to get Worked Up about this?
Drop me a comment and let me know if you've ever heard of Robert Madu or Designed for Life!
Wishing you guys All God’s Love and Smiles. :)
Chala