Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Living God off and on throughout the entire night and by the time our last meeting was over, the Lights were on in more ways than one. Sometimes I need to slow down to evaluate the Condition of my Heart so I spent time Confessing my weaknesses and asking for forgiveness for “owning” the Details of my Life – and He spent a lot of time reminding me that He’s God and that He has my Life in the Palm of His Hand. When I looked at this flag of Faith, blowing this way and that way in the morning breeze, it reminded me of how my life is. It’s only when there is absolutely nothing going on, nothing really good and nothing really bad, that the “flag” of my Life is still. Otherwise, there are never-ending twists and turns. Sometimes the flag of my Life blows gently, and sometimes it’s whipped around, but if I hold onto the Living God the way the flag “holds on” to the pole, I don’t just endure…I Thrive. Isn’t that the way it is in your Life too?

It can be so easy to overthink our circumstances when we face “trials of many kinds” and we easily lose our peace AND our Direction when we do. Life is filled with activities…and it’s laced with turmoil…and when we live Life for Him we can expect to be blown around in the process. It’s only when there’s absolutely nothing going on…nothing really good…and nothing really bad, that most people ever find their Peace. Some people like being locked away in their own world and they refuse to step out into His because they’re so comfortable. They don’t “sign up” for anything that has the potential to threaten their closed-off world. They watch the news filled with lies and conflict and they wonder what’s wrong with the world, while they never consider what part they could play in shining the Light of their Faith in the same darkness they’re so easily entertained by. They see turmoil happening in the lives of the Busy Ones, and they pass judgment and criticize the ones willing to Persevere for Him. These guys LIKE “nothing” going on, and they see each piece of “involvement” outside of their closed little life as a threat to their peace and comfort. When tragedy strikes them, they’re shocked to see it coming. After all, they live a “peaceful life” – they “mind their own business” – and they wonder what they did to deserve it. “Minding your own business” sounds pretty good when it’s used as an excuse with a Spiritual spin, but God doesn’t expect us to mind our own business, He expects us to be Minding His.

God says to “consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds”, not because He likes for us to suffer, but because He wants to make us Strong. It’s through the “testing” of our faith that we learn to Persevere. Perseverance is more than just surviving the wind, it has a Built-in Bonus that inspires us to keep going! He says “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”. The need for perseverance is foreign to the ones who fight to have nothing going on in Life at all because they’d rather have nothing going on than to be expected to put forth the Effort to Persevere. For others, Perseverance is a way of Life and they’re willing to fly the Flag of Faith to the world (and willing to take the consequences for it) because they Understand that “all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His Purpose”. When we learn to see the good and the bad as Part of the overall Journey of Faith with Built-in Benefits, we no longer overthink our Circumstances and we no longer whine about the Process.

I sometimes have to battle my own mind as I attempt to rationalize the circumstances and I’m inclined to look for Solutions of my own. It’s ONLY when I take the good and the bad TO Him so that He can do the Heavy Lifting FOR me and I let Him help me sort out my Life, that I find my Peace and Persevere no matter what good or bad is causing the Flag of my Faith to be whipped around. Through the Process, I become more Mature and Complete, and I lack for absolutely nothing in my Life. I understand the Journey, and I want to be the best that I can be for Him. Perseverance is my middle name because I’ve faced “Trials of many kinds” countless times AND I can see the Hand of God through them all. I’m Strong. I’m Unstoppable. I’m Unshakable… and I lack for nothing in the Process. You’ll always find me outside of my Comfort Zone “taking one” for the Team… and with Him holding the Flag of my Faith…I’ll persevere to the End.

How about you?