Unleash Your Inner Warrior
Dear Warriors, Have you ever noticed that some people (or characters) just seem to change the atmosphere when they enter a room? It seems that everyone drops what they are doing as their attention is instantly drawn to this one person. I'm thinking of the Clint Eastwood’s, Han Solo’s and James Bonds. I'm sure a few people come to mind. They just seem to command a presence. Perhaps you don’t know any warriors in real life, but think of the samurai, or military commanders; think of William Wallace, Spartacus or Aragorn, who in their rousing battle speeches changed the mood of an entire army! As warriors, we are meant to change atmospheres in essentially the same way. When we walk into a room, we should command a presence. While you may not command a presence that demands the attention of everyone in the room like Clint Eastwood, as a follower of Christ and a warrior, your presence should change the mood of the room. Imagine walking into a room in which the tension is so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Imagine walking into the midst of negativity and conflict, into a high stress situation. Most people find themselves overtaken by the mood and simply submit to the tension. As warriors, we should not let the stress, tension, conflict or anxiety that rules the atmosphere affect us; instead we should affect the tension.
It is not que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. It is laziness to simply come under the ‘rule’ of other people’s attitudes and behaviors. Other people should not determine how we live. Your bad behavior should not determine mine. We are not called to respond to whatever negative atmosphere is present, but to initiate and create a better environment. We overcome evil by doing good. Spiritual warfare is living in the opposite to what has been presented to you. The world presents negativity, dispeace, chaos, panic and stress. We must be so rooted in peace that we not only refuse that, but we bring peace into that atmosphere. When we were born again, the very nature of God became ours to draw from. There is no excuse that could justify us yielding to the chaos of the world. Our lives are surrendered to a great and mighty King. Thus we should be carriers of peace, changing the atmosphere of places we enter; essentially, we should be bringing heaven into any given situation. How do we do that? Luke 10:15 says, if you speak peace, it will settle. Philippians 4:4 says to rejoice in the Lord, always! Not sometimes, but always. Galatians 6:7 says, whatever a man sows, he shall reap. You’ve got to sow peace into the atmosphere. No matter how people are treating you, smile, be gracious, be thoughtful, be considerate and kind. Whatever you sow, you shall reap. If you can’t figure out why no one likes you, ask: what seeds have I sowed? What have I done? Some of you would immediately counter me saying that you can’t expect the best out of people (or at least not all the time), and in order to keep your heart safe, you’ve got to expect the worst. What you don’t realize is that by expecting the worst from people, you are setting both them and yourself up for a fall. Expect the worst, and that is precisely what you will get. (The only good news here is that you will never be disappointed. This hardly seems like good news to me, in this case). Expect the worst, and you will always get what you expect, simply because you will create an atmosphere that invites it by your foul attitude. People can sense that on you, and they will react negatively to your negativity. We are not called to live that way. Take a look at 1 Timothy 4:12; we are to be an example to believers in what we say, the way we live, in our love, in our faith and in purity. Realize right away that you cannot change someone’s attitude; you cannot try to make them behave differently or coerce them into having a better attitude. Also realize that if you react to someone, rather than responding to them, you will become like that. What do I mean by that? I mean if you immediately unleash your snarky, sarcastic, negative, pessimistic, snide attitude to them by your instinctual reaction, rather than responding them them in cool, calm, calculated and collected thoughts and in love. Romans 12:14, bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 1 Peter 3:9 says, not to repay evil with evil, or insult for insult. If you want to see anything change, you’ve got to sow something into that atmosphere. I’m reminded of Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” He hit the nail on the head. So many marriages and relationships are a mess not because of big things, but because of the little things. You might counter me, saying “well, you just don’t know my partner/ parents/ boss/ etc” or “you don’t know my life.” I don’t care. I’m looking at you. You need to look at you. We must always look at ourselves first. Fix yourself first, and the atmosphere will begin to change, and you will find that others begin to respond differently to you. Today I challenge you to put off the old man, and recognize that he is dead and buried. You are a new creation, so stop being a gravedigger, and start drawing from the spirit realm. Draw on God, and let Christ be your example. First, take a look at how you think about people and how you treat them. Do you honor others, and respond to them out of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control? Do you celebrate people, and encourage them? Or do you secretly judge them within yourself? Realize that you have no excuse to be bitter or unkind, resentful or judgmental, cynical or sarcastic, negative or pessimistic. Make a point to become aware of those thoughts and attitudes within yourself as they arise—and make a point to counter them. Defy your old nature! Encourage others through observation. Look at what people are doing well, and what they are like, and say something encouraging to them. Practice using your words to build others up, as Ephesians 4:29 says. If you encourage people daily, your hardened heart will become soft, and you will begin to recognize how wonderful people are, and how brilliant God really is! If you are having some difficulty with this, I will leave you with a prayer with which to go before God: Holy Spirit, I confess that I have not been living for you today, I’ve been living for me. So right now, I choose to put on joy and kindness. I choose to put on Christ. I choose to allow Your power and spirit to flow through me. With God's help, conquer the battle in your mind first, warriors, and then? Live in the battleground, Peace be with you, Warrior Beloved ©Michèle Aimée, 2015
2 Comments
Lonette
12/26/2015 08:17:49 pm
Powerful thoughts! I love the definition of warfare! Thank you for sharing.
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Michèle
12/27/2015 08:31:11 pm
Thank you Lonette! It is pure joy to read your response to my writing.
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