by:  Cris Corzine-McCloskey

I am now nearing the 2-month mark of my Facebook fast.  It has revolutionized my life.  I never knew what a time suck social media was!   I don’t feel nearly as stressed or busy since I’m not wasting precious time scrolling through my newsfeed.  Best of all, shutting off the drama has reconnected me with God in a way I haven’t had in years.  I have a newfound peace, and there is no going back.

Peace is a funny thing.  Everyone says they want it, but few are willing to jettison the peace suckers in their lives.  Our society thrives on drama and chaos.  I have managed to talk a few of my clients into shutting off the brouhaha, but it seems the sudden quiet is frightening to them.  They equate it to boredom.  I have concluded peace is an acquired taste.

I came across this scripture, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”  That was written back in 8th Century BC by a Prophet named Isaiah, who was desperately trying to get God’s people to quit worshiping idols and trust the Lord.  As much as things have changed, they have remained the same.

Nowadays, our idols are more subtle.  We don’t carve statues, but we do worship people. We follow them on Instagram and Twitter.  We also worship our phones because they give us access to our tweets and Facebook.  Then we complain about being overly busy and stressed.  “In quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.”

Back in my drug days, I used to say, “I hate drama.”  But I never failed to be smack dab in the middle of it.  Arguments with people, gossip, being offended, and stress was my way of life.  Post salvation, I learned the thing I hated I had created.  I always had a choice.  I didn’t have to argue, gossip, or be offended.  Neither do you.  Just like we can turn off our social media, we also have a choice about being in peace.

Jesus said He gave us peace, not a worldly peace, which requires calm circumstances, but a supernatural peace that requires trust in God.  That peace is difficult to access when strife, bad news, and gossip are clamoring for your attention.  They are peace suckers.  But our society has acquired a taste for peace suckers.  What we haven’t acquired a taste for is peace.

When 2020 hit, none of us anticipated being thrust into a Stephen King novel, but here we are.  With the coming elections, we all know it’s likely to get worse before it gets better.  That’s why I have spent the past several weeks teaching various ways to stay sane in this crazy season by telling you to guard your heart and abide in Christ.  I have been following my own advice, and in quietness and trust, I’m finding strength.

In closing, here is a little more ancient wisdom for you.  This was written back when Christians were being fed to lions and needed a word to help them stay steadfast in their crazy culture.  It’s in 1 Peter 3:10-11, “Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here’s what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good, and run after peace for all you’re worth.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories:

Tags:

6 Responses

  1. Well I missed you and here you are gone . I defriended everyone who was not peaceful . I get and give encouragement and teaching…. Glad you found your happy spot . Hope someday, maybe with no friend list you can add your encouragement . I asked Helen where you went before I found you gone. Hope she is well !!

    • Hi Candace! Yes, I’m off Facebook. My account is deactivated for now. Maybe forever. Things got too ugly on there for a peace lover like me. I will let the people who have the ability to debate without being affected by it pick up the baton. You always know where to find me though.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.