Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cool on this August morning but it won’t stay that way for long. Soon the sun will be scorching as the earth begs for rain. One minute it’s bearable and the next minute it’s not…just the way Life if is we aren’t careful. As I sat on the front porch this morning intent on meeting with my God in the quiet, my time was interrupted instead….by a driver making a delivery in the wee hours and then by a walker with no regard for the privacy of others. In an instant, my heart was filled with resentment and my peace faded away before my day could even get off to a good start. I felt violated and I was angry…BUT that was before God took me to the Spiritual Woodshed and got ahold of my Heart with a Firm Reminder that nothing has the power to steal my peace, it’s something that is surrendered instead. So, I repented of my hardened heart, I prayed for my enemies, I sent the one who set out to rob me back to Hell where he belongs, and I regained my Peace all over again. The Author and Perfecter of my Faith KNOWS the condition of my Heart at all times and IF I walk with Him, He’ll keep my path straight every time. Isn’t that the way your Journey of Faith is too?

Working against the flow is something that some people of Faith know a lot about. Some of us work against the flow of this dark world day in and day out and sometimes we’re persecuted for our Faith because of it. Some of us are willing to “take one for the Team” when we’re ridiculed and we’re called vile names just because of Who we Serve. Some of us have learned to Love the sinner even while we hate the sin and we’re ready, willing, and able to share our Faith at every opportunity presented by God. Some of us kick fear to the curb and we’ll stand up for Righteousness every time and in any audience, and if we do it according to Instructions by God, not only are we unshakable but we’re kind and gentle too. Some of us value Forgiveness and we’ve learned to turn the other cheek to those who wrong us…even if it happens over and over again. Some of us have learned not to judge others because we hold on to the Truth and we never forget about who and what we are without Him – we treasure our Redemption above all. Some of us have learned to love ourselves less while we Serve somebody else in His Name because we know what we do for them. we do for Him. Some of us get weary as we work against the flow day in and day out and if we’re not careful we could easily get discouraged. But some of us Understand that we aren’t the Source of our own Strength, so we run to the One Who is over and over again…just like I did this morning when I was allowing my peace to be stolen. No matter what happens in this Journey called Life, Peace, and Joy always comes down to choice….especially as we go against the flow.

Most people of Faith don’t know what it is to go against the flow and they’ve convinced themselves that their role is to mind their own business, to live peacefully, and to take up space on their favorite pew each Sunday morning. They think they’re doing well to be polite to the world (most of the time) and they think if they wear a cross around their neck for all the world to see they’ll be recognized as people of Faith without saying a word. Sometimes when I see how some of the cross-wearers behave, I wish they’d remove their symbol before they open their mouth so they don’t make a mockery of what we really believe or how we’re really called to live our lives. Some of these people of Faith believe that if you are living “the right way” you won’t have big problems in life and that the rest of the world just needs to behave to stop the suffering. Some of them somehow believe they ARE the judge and jury in this life as if God needs their help to balance the scales. Some of them justify their words and their actions as they set out for vengeance, even though they know that their God says “Vengeance is mine”. But what these people really want is to hear the echo of their own hateful words. They want to inflict pain in the name of Righteousness and they set out to demand justice because they’ve convinced themselves that they’re worthy of more. Unfortunately, some of the best opportunities to be a good Witness of our Faith is in how we react when we’ve been wronged…. but most of these will never know what that means at all. It’s sad to see so many people of Faith refusing to go against the flow while they busy themselves being sure to “fit in” with all of the rest.

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for the beauty of this new day for all that He is and all that He does for me. I’m grateful for being interrupted this morning so that God could reveal the hardening of my Heart and Remind me to RECAPTURE my Peace no matter what. I have the Power to reconcile things in the heavenly realms AND the choice is mine…to fight for my Peace or to willingly surrender it to the Thief. It’s impossible to be a usable Vessel for the King of all kings with a Heart that is hardened so Repentence will always be at the top of the Spiritual List for me. After my time in the Spiritual Woodshed, everyone I encounter today will be able to SEE Him in me by the Peace that flows through me. My Heart has been Prepared to live out my Faith with excellence today, and I’ll be going against the flow of this dark world no matter the consequences to me. I won’t need a cross around my neck to convince someone else that I’m a woman of Faith – they’ll see my Faith in my words and my Actions and through my Heart without any symbol at all.

How about you?