I don’t know about you, but whenever I feel wrongfully treated, there is a temptation in me to want to defend and justify myself. In times where someone believes slander or a lie about me, I have a strong desire to prove them wrong and set the record straight. But the question I struggle with is, “Is this the right response God is wanting me to take or is this my flesh and pride getting in the way?”

I used to love change...But now, as an official “middle-aged” woman, I yearn for stability and security…I think it’s a natural shift. However, while I’m not looking for change, I do fear being stagnant — staying so long and so quiet in my comfort zone that I don’t experience all that God wants me to or has for me. 

When life feels uncertain, it’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to control everything. We want answers. We want to feel prepared. We want to make sure nothing is left up in the air. At least, I feel that way. It seems safer to hold tight than to surrender. But when I start clinging to control, I usually end up feeling the opposite of peace. I get anxious. Overwhelmed. Hopeless.

Is our faith in God that fragile that the minute something doesn’t happen, we doubt everything God has said to us? What does this say about who we believe God to be? It’s not about the size of our faith but the matter in which our faith belongs. So what do we do?

Are you battle formed but not actually ready for battle? Battle formation is having the weapons of warfare and an outward showing of might and strength. Whereas battle readiness goes further, because it not only knows how to use those weapons but it also is accompanied with the right state of mind and will to actually stand in the face of battle.  

There was no hope that I could ever fix this perilous situation. What does a person do when the pain of two people you love has come to a place of impossible reconciliation?