Flexible Flesh
Greetings to you Christian sisters all over the world!
I pray you are doing well physically and most of all spiritually!
Today I want to talk about being flexible in the flesh. By this I mean, not getting so wrapped up in your flesh, what you like, what you're used to, standards you set etc. that you are not flexible to go with what the Lord might be doing in your life, or just plain old circumstances that change plans.
If we are wrapped in the flesh and are upset that things changed, we didn't finish what we wanted to (again!), a schedule was disrupted, projects cancelled or put off, shopping trips not going as planned etc, it will wreck our day and we will lose our peace and joy...in this temporal world. If we have the mindset on things above...
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:2
...it will eliminate a lot of disappointments and frustrations in our life because we won't be focused on our ideals and goals, we will be focused on what's important (things above) and only doing what we must do here on earth until we go home (heaven, if we endure).
One example of a big issue that women struggle with is keeping the house to the standards she has set in her mind. I know for a fact that if you have children, the house can seem like a constant mess. The bathroom is endlessly dirty no matter how many times a day you do a quick wipe, the living room floor is always filled with toys, books and dirt, the kitchen sink is filled with dishes and it seems like a never ending chore of washing clothes and cooking, only to do it again while everything else piles up. Did you notice something I said? Standards she has set. If we are flexible in the flesh, many of our standards should be set by the circumstances in our life. A woman with 2 children may set some standards of cleanliness in her house and be able to accomplish them most days. A woman with 4 children may try to set the same standards but never reach them on a continual basis and instead of adjusting her standards, she is constantly disappointed and let down.
Another example I learned the hard way. We've bought and sold several houses and when I started a painting project I would carefully tape off the edges, buy a good edging brush and take a loooong time making sure there was no overlapping onto the other wall. Every single time I removed the tape I would see some paint seeped onto the other way in small areas. It was hardly noticeable but in my mind, I had set a standard that it was to be a perfectly straight line and because I saw it, it bugged me that I didn't accomplish my goal and instead of rejoicing that I had a nice coat of paint on the wall, I was dejected because it wasn't exactly how I wanted. Had I been flexible in the flesh I would have brushed it off and moved on because in the spiritual realm of things, a few small paint mistakes on a wall mean nothing.
Here's another one: I used to have the mindset (before Christ) that my clothing had to have a certain quality look to it otherwise I would feel sloppy or messy. Unfortunately that mindset carried over for a short time after being born again but brother Jim helped set me straight and taught me how to be flexible in the flesh, resetting my standards. I remember the first time I had a small stain on my shirt and I freaked out about it, how could I ever go in public looking like that? Brother Jim said 'So what, it's a stain, you can still wear the shirt. Do you think the believers in the first century were worried about a stain?" That humbled me because today we have endless options for clothing yet many of the first century saints were so poor many only had one set of clothing. Today, many years later, living in a van full time makes me very flexible in that area because my clothing is often wrinkled from the small storage space and more often than not, there are some stains here and there.
It's a laying down of our wants in the flesh - killing it- (even if they are worthy goals) and remembering to live for what's ahead, keeping in perspective that this world will fade away and we should be living for eternity. The paint mistakes, a messy house, a wrinkled shirt with a stain should not bring us down, should not deplete our joy in the Lord and should not deter our sights from what's ahead. I have an article about being caught up in the moment, you can read it here: https://titus24sisters.blogspot.com/2020/01/dont-get-caught-up-in-moment.html
What made me think of this topic was a very fleshly one actually. We had just been in a place that was very hot, high humidity and at times we felt like a boiled lobster after standing in the sun all day witnessing on the street, then the next day we were in a place that was windy and cold enough to wear a coat and load on the blankets at night. With all our travels, we often find the extremes can be wearing on a person if we don't have the right mindset. (Living full time in a van does not offer a lot of comfort.) We're not here to move around and find the most comfortable weather, we are here to serve the Lord, regardless what we need to go through. The other night for example, it was midnight when we went to bed when the cleaning crew came into the parking lot and began to make a lot of noise with their blowers, the sweeper / cleaner and the garbage man driving around with blaring rap music.
Brother Jim fell asleep through it but I was awake and instead of being upset about it, it was time for me to pray and ponder the things of God, giving thanks for a roof over my head, a warm comfortable bed and food for breakfast in the morning...sustaining us to go do the will of God the next day.
Brother Jim fell asleep through it but I was awake and instead of being upset about it, it was time for me to pray and ponder the things of God, giving thanks for a roof over my head, a warm comfortable bed and food for breakfast in the morning...sustaining us to go do the will of God the next day.
If we are flexible in the flesh, we will move with what is in our life, adapting and going forward quickly as opposed to being stalemate and trying to find a way to get along after being let down. Flexibility in the flesh will help us to remember that we are not here for ourselves, our goals or our standards we've set, we are here to do the will of the Father. With our mindset on things above and ahead of us, we will minimize the earthly disappointments and instead go right over them like a speed bump in the road. You don't stop in front of it, you just slow down and bounce over it as you keep going.
Satan will do his best to try to bring you down and if you're living in the Spirit, flexible to change and setting your mind on things above, you will go through life without unnecessary let downs that slow you down or hinder you. Take some time to examine yourself and the standards you set, then see if they are actually stumbling blocks in your life and evaluate if you need to adjust them.
(Edited to add that I had this post drafted to finish at a later date, which turned out to be today. Earlier today I had an example of being flexible because something went totally wrong and I had to work hard to not letting it get to me:-)
(Edited to add that I had this post drafted to finish at a later date, which turned out to be today. Earlier today I had an example of being flexible because something went totally wrong and I had to work hard to not letting it get to me:-)
Our Savior has come to offer us peace...
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
Let's not let our flesh, the world or satan take that from us.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
John 10:10
Have a joyous day sisters.
Blessings to you,
Sister Deb
The biblical gospel...