October 12, 2010

Hide and Divide

Proverbs 10:10 An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead but an open, face to face meeting results in peace.
So often we avoid eye contact with people if we have an issue with them...and sometimes we do it if we assume what is the issue. We do this because we can feel it in the air that something is off and so we start looking for the answer in our minds....analyzing body language and words, tones and vibes. Couple that with memory of what has been in the past and you are asking for a pot of "guessing".
Assume : to believe sometime to be true with no evidence that it is truth.
But we can see by this verse that if we are avoiding and/or hiding there is going to be trouble ahead. On thinking back in situations in my life the trouble was often what grew out of the assumptions I made that didn't get cleared up. When this happens anger breeds...bitterness gets planted...and misunderstanding springs up the fruit of division. You wont know what the real issue is until you get talking.
It is when we go face to face (which is SCARY) that God says this willingness to be open and to face the situations head on will result in peace. That is a promise to us!! What I have found is that it isn't always the peace I thought it would be. I thought I would have peace with other people and while that has happened...it is PEACE WITHIN that has been the most valuable outcome. It stops renting space in your mind...we stop chewing and reworking the problem over and over because it is OVER!!
(Like when you mix bread with yeast it grows and grows each time you kneed it and leave it. But when you mix it, set it and bake it...when its done it's DONE!)
As Tina's likes to say : CUT THE GRASS AND CALL IT MOWED...
Don't let fear stop you from taking the *seemingly* more difficult move and go talk about the situation. Go face the issues. Say those hard things that are true for you. Be honest about how you feel. Bypass the evasive eyes ...and believe me I know it takes courage and strength to do this... stand up straight and go face to face and find that peace.
Peace within is worth it!!
Remember It's the enemy who gets us to swallow the lie that *peace* comes from avoiding the issue ...when it really only causes division.  (We like to tell ourselves when there are relational issues that don't get cleared up that since we are apart from them and not around them that we have peace cause we don't have to deal with that persons junk. (Just because you separate and isolate when there is an issue doesn't mean you have real peace)
F and L'er
Starla