Solitary Confinement

So I’ve been sick for an entire week, and unless your bedroom overlooks the beach, things can get pretty downcast while you’re stuck there. Thankfully, I’ve been able to get a lot of rest. It’s speeding up my recovery. On another note, staying in bed is just a reminder of how easy it is to let all that bad energy seep into my thinking. I’m sick, I’m not working, and suddenly my life is going nowhere and nobody likes me. Get out of bed!

Thankfully, God’s been very good and I was able to spend some sweet time going over scripture and devotionals. I highly recommend a little book called “Joy Breaks” by Johnson & Swindoll. In times when we get off-balance, I think it’s important to remember who we are. When we’re by ourselves for a little too long, or in a different group of people, we always have to come back. There’s a reason I listen to relaxing music, and hanging out with people who make me laugh. It’s who I am. I like fellowship, making peace, sharing the love of God. It’s not enough to dwell on the idea. We have to do it - for all those moments when we’re caught off guard or stuck by ourselves. We have to be doers of the word and not hearers only to help us in those hard times when we forget how good life is and forget “what manner of man we are” (James 1:24).

Recommended chill out music: Da Lata - Songs from the Tin (Brazilian)

 

Hug a friend

 

Sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without friends. Even if I’m the one calling them which I do often. (No shame!) It’s a lot harder to complain to a stranger, and it doesn’t give you the assurance that you’re going to be understood. What’s more, I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have God to guide me. In Philippians 4 we’re given the assurance that the God of peace will be with us when we put our heart and mind in Christ. There’s a strange visual there but I see some give and take involved. Give love, give your cares, - get love, get peace. In Philippians 4:13 Paul records, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” There isn’t a limitation on that statement. It’s not, “I can do everything until I move,”, or “I can do everything unless I quit my job” or “I can do everything as long as it’s within my skills range” either. In Christ, I have peace and the power that goes with that in knowing I’ll be ok - no matter what. 

Still, friends really help. Paul continues listing the trials he personally endured, showing how his faith was strengthened, giving examples of Christ’s love in action and sharing them in his letter to the church. But I like how he adds in verse 14 like a post-it reminder, “…yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” You can almost hear him say, ‘Hey guys, thanks for hanging in there with me! I haven’t forgotten!’

The good news is we have peace, the better news is we have friends to help us when we don’t feel quite peaceful!