February 23, 2019

When Life Doesn't Feel Just or Fair... A Five Minute Friday post.

***
I have been quiet(er) than normal lately -- both in this space and in real life... mostly this is because of oral surgery and a slower than hoped for recovery. It's amazing how teeth/jaw/ear pain can make you not want to talk --or think, or do much of anything else either, really! Still... that's only part of why I've grown quiet.  I'd like to think it is maturity and wisdom (--I know that it is!--) but that maturity comes from mostly letting Him be the boss of me --not only with what I say and write but also with what I think and focus on! (It's a journey, Y'all!)

This is a Five Minute Friday post... which simply means I set a timer
and free write for five minutes flat on the one-word prompt: JUST

{GO!}

I set the timer to five minutes and mull over the word prompt. "Just" immediately points me to Justice and because of the season we have been walking through, my mind then jumps to thinking about how to live out our faith when Life doesn't feel Just or Fair!


Because you guys: I can stomp my foot and curl out my bottom lip with the best of them! I can... (and I have! But thankfully, mostly that has been at home in private! Mostly!)

Here's the thing: 
Life is NOT Just or Fair.
Not all of the time, anyway!

It's just not... and we can want justice and fairness for us --not realizing that even if we got our way, the injustice and unfairness would probably still be there --but for someone else. (It's that whole 'us' and 'them' dilemma!)

I'm not saying it is impossible and I am, of course, in no way saying that we shouldn't FIGHT for Justice. We most certainly should! 

We stand in the gap and declare and decree freedom and justice for the oppressed and the enslaved, for the abused and the neglected, for nations and tribes and for our neighbors down the road or across the pew (and not just for ourselves!)

Yes... let's stand for what is good and true and right!
And let's do it with grace and mercy... 

...not losing sight of the fact that
Jesus loves EVERY person on each side
of the issue or circumstance!
I know, right? It's so hard!
(And that thought alone can feel unjust and unfair!)

So how do we keep our Faith when Life doesn't feel Just or Fair? 

We keep it quietly... 
We hold on to Him and trust that
He is working it all out...
We hold our tongue
and keep our cool
and trust that He truly does
make all things beautiful!
Because...
He does!


He is the only One who can work things out for my good
AND work things out for your good... 

He's the only One who knows how to look at
the full picture of what is happening and
zero in on the root of it all... 
and work it out for good 
--for both/all sides!
He's so smart, you guys! 

And He doesn't want us to live in the dark, unaware... 
He doesn't want for us to camp out and be a victim...
He actually tells us how to live!
"But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women.It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love,And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously." Micah 6:8 The Message
This is how we live... 
This is how we continue on
when life is fair and when it is unfair...
when life is just or unjust.  
We are called to do what is fair and just to our neighbors...
to be compassionate and loyal in our love... 
and to not take ourselves too seriously!

I can't say for you - but for me? A lot of the times that I have felt the sting of injustice or unfairness, chances are good I wanted my way and I'm pretty sure I was taking myself too seriously.

The Bible also tells us to do unto others as we'd have them do unto us (Luke 6:31)! So even if it's true and life is treating us unfairly and justice is far from what is being handed out to us... even then, we are sowing seeds for a Harvest, so let's be sure we are sowing for the Harvest that we long for!

The Bible also says in Zephaniah 3:5 that "
The Lord is righteous within her;He will do no injustice.Every morning He brings His justice to light;He does not fail..."
He does not fail... 
so if things feel hard and heavy,
weighed down with injustice
and fairness is nowhere in sight,
rest in knowing He is not done
working things out for you!

Here's the other thing:


You can know how to walk this out and you can be well-versed in patience and trust and peace and faith and that old flesh still may raise up and try to convince you to tell your side or to set the record straight.  The enemy may whisper lies to you in an attempt to get you to jump to conclusions or pick at old wounds. 

But, friends, don't you do it!

Don't lose sight of the One who paid for it all!
Don't forget that He is for you and not against you!
Don't let seeds unworthy of you be planted, 
but rather, fling seeds of faith and love
with reckless abandon,
and watch and see what the Lord will do!

{STOP!}

We have been going through the Book of Colossians,
verse by verse and as I wrapped up this post as
my timer buzzed, I remembered Col 1:5 which reads:
 "Your faith and love rise within you as you access all the treasures of your inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm. For the revelation of the true gospel is as real today as the day you first heard of our glorious hope, now that you have believed in the truth of the gospel." Col 1:5 TPT
May we access all the treasures of our inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm.  

How do we do this in the face of the hard and heavy...
of feeling misunderstood or misrepresented,
misquoted or misinformed? 
We press into the revelation of the true gospel...

And what is the True Gospel, you may ask!?

It's simply this:

Love wins!


Let Love Win... 
even if/when it feels like that is making you lose.
Let Love Win!  

All of Heaven takes notice when we
choose the Way of Jesus! 
By laying down your life, 
you grab hold of eternity
and with every tiny death, 
more Life floods in!


It's not easy...
But it IS right...
It is the true Gospel that
we are called to live out loud
and it's the Love that rights every wrong
in the end anyway!

Just Breathe, and Pray, and Trust, and Wait...
He's working things out for your good!


* = This is when my Five Minutes was officially over! Thanks for the Grace, friends, to finish my thought!

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays give us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about "JUST"
The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk about food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second-guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!

Photos courtesy of Unsplash from Aaron Burd


I'm also linking up with the lovely writer community linked below:


Crystal Twaddell for #FreshMarketFriday

Mary Geisen for #TellHisStory

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Maybe somehow you don't know this, but we have our very own (somewhat non-blog-related) podcast called THE CHANGING OUR MINDS PODCAST! Karrilee and her all grown up Girlie co-host this podcast and talk about Oh So Many random things!  Faith plays a part, sure... but it is more like joining us for coffee as we catch up on the couch or sitting at the table! We talk about whatever is on our minds and often reveal things that we used to think we knew... but we've changed our minds! We'd love to have you join us at the Table or a comfy couch as we catch up over a cup of something yummy and share life together! We invite you to SUBSCRIBE here to have the Podcast sent to your preferred listening device so you won't miss a thing! Also, follow us on Facebook to join in on the conversations!

12 comments :

  1. Romans 12.9
    At all times.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes and Amen!!! (And here it is in The Passion Translation, because -of course!)

      "Let the inner movement of your heart always be to love one another, and never play the role of an actor wearing a mask. Despise evil and embrace everything that is good and virtuous."

      xoxo

      Delete
  2. That is a good point about what might feel just for us, might feel unjust for someone. At church today the worship leader had us thinking about something similar, God loves us AND he also loves the other person on the other side of the conflict.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In our culture that tells us to fight for our rights --which is of course not a bad thing... but definitely creates a sometimes skewed view of Justice-- we can lose sight of justice for all parties involved... and love - like your worship leader was saying - for everyone, too!

      It's not easy to remember in the midst of feeling like we are being treated unjustly or unfairly... but it helps us to ask for His perspective before we react or reply!

      Thanks so much for stopping by, Katherine!

      Delete
  3. Oh! Just noticed you have a tag line- Speak Life, which is actually what our sermon was on tonight, well from James, about the tongue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love it when God speaks and then confirms His Word in so many different places!

      Delete
  4. But of course, you'd quote Micah 6:8! A seminary professor once said, "When you are standing there, proclaiming and fighting for one side of an issue, you think God is right there next to you. But instead he's probably always on the other side of the line" It illustrates what you said about how God doesn't choose sides etc. And yes, life just isn't fair...just ask Joseph (which we read in worship this morning)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Love when God is speaking to us through many different streams!

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  5. Such good thoughts! I love what you said about "times that I have felt the sting of injustice or unfairness, chances are good I wanted my way" -- that is so true and I've felt that over and over again. It's human nature to feel attacked when things don't line up the way we desire, but that's not always what God wants for us. Of course it's hard for us to swallow that, but believing He has a better plan than I do helps a little.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes... it helps a lot -sometimes we just need a little time and distance to realize it!

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  6. Yes, let love win, no matter how hard it may seem, sometimes. Things can look very bleak, but God has it all under control. He works on His timetable, not ours. And we can trust Him to always to what is right and best. Blessings to you, Karrilee! xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amen, Gayl! He can be trusted with and in and through all things!
      Blessings right back to you, my friend!
      xoxo

      Delete

Thanks so much for stopping by! I always love to hear your thoughts! Remember to: Speak Life - Be Love - Shine On!
~Karrilee~

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