As moms, we affect the temperature of our homes. We can set the atmosphere for love and safety, or we can allow havoc to reign in a tide of emotions. We can choose to be thermostats and set a steady temperature for the emotions in our home, or we can change with the temperature of the situation or circumstance. By modeling how we handle our emotions and not letting them rule our moments, we can set the temperature on life and peace.
I read these verses in Mathew Chapter 5 the other day about loving our enemies. They are extremely familiar, but I read them in the Message translation and it changed my perspective totally. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. The Message phrases it like this:
"Let them bring out the best in you not the worst.
When someone gives you a hard time,
respond in the energies of prayer." v. 44
Respond in the energies of prayer....not react in anger, disappointment, or hurt...respond by putting that energy into prayer.
Pour all that angst, all your frustration into prayer not out your mouth. Don't overflow onto the person, but overflow onto God.
This is literally changing my daily life. I may not have "enemies" in the form of people coming against me every day. But I do know someone who roams my life like a roaring lion seeking any way he can to destroy and derail me. One of his favorite ways to get me to crack is my children. Honestly, haven't you felt at one time or another that your children were ganging up on you and plotting to overthrow you? They aren't my enemies, but it can sure feel like they are working against me.
Who in your life can bring out the worst in you the fastest? That's where we have to practice responding in the energies of prayer. It really means taking all our feelings to God before we let them spill over. It's our safe guard. I have made this verse from Psalm 141, "Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!" I could pray this every day of my life and it wouldn't be overkill.
I can't think of a day I haven't had the opportunity to practice responding in the energies of prayer instead of reacting to my circumstances. Notice I didn't say I've always taken the opportunity, but it was there. We can model responding in the energies of prayer for our children when we are cut off in traffic, stuck in long lines at the grocery store, miss the bus, burn dinner, receive a late husband, respond to a disrespectful child, mediate a sibling argument, pick up dirty socks...again. What does this look like in your life.
All of the people in my life will disappoint me. They might not even know that they have when it happens, but we are all human and we will fall short of expectations. If I set my expectations on Jesus, He won't disappoint. Make sure you hear that correctly. If I set my expectations on my desires and plans, that may not work out, but if I set them on Jesus, just Jesus, being all that He is for me, I won't be shaken. Circumstances may not look like I was hoping, but when my thermostat is set on Jesus, my circumstances don't change my internal thermometer because it is preset on joy.
Fixing my eyes on Jesus sets my thermostat to peace. Peace is my my spiritual birthright. Jesus himself is my peace. Satan can't take it from me unless I let him. When I feel that temperature start to rise, I'm going to purposefully respond in the energies of prayer.
Practicing the rhythm of this response will be hard. Some days it may take all that I've got, but I know that as soon as I pray God opens the gates of heaven and peace and strength flow abundantly. I just have to take that first turn His direction, and as I draw near to Him; He will draw near to me.