Living Life in the Grey Zone

I have often been described as a person of varying extremes-shifting between black and white with very little shades of grey. I don’t believe there’s anything fundamentally wrong with this stance as like with most anything, the positive aspects can be found if only one looks long enough. Being a person of extremes means that I’m either all in or out. If I’m on a team and fully invested you get everything I bring to the table. If I’m not fully invested, you may get a bare minimum to zero participation.

However, I have come to realize over the years that this presented some problems because life requires some flexibility right? Different people in my life began telling me I needed balance. When I thought of balance-I pictured a scale and everything that required my attention at that moment was weighed in equal measure. After all, balance is literally described as a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.

So, I began to work feverishly in the hopes of achieving this mystical balance; alas, it would not be so. It wasn’t until recent times that I began to get some clarity on the subject of achieving balance. What I’ve found is that the scale of balance will always be tipped to one side or another, because with 24 hours in a day it becomes very challenging to respond to every situation with the same amount of effort and tenacity considering that at some point we must find time to rest. And if you are a self-proclaimed heavy hitter, going full force ahead, something will get overlooked, even if that something is you. Once again, the scales are tipped.

What I’ve found is that we should approach everything from a sense of priority. While the doing, the execution of what we engage in will always cause the scales of balance to be tipped-the being should flow from a state of harmony (are your priorities congruent-on one accord and in agreement with who you are and what you value).

• How important is this? 
• What will this cost me? 
• Who will this affect? 
• What kind of impact will this have? 
• What will I gain? 
• What will I lose? 

This is where balance can be effectively measured-where you offset or compare the value of one thing with another. And this (determining priorities) always comes from your value system-it guides everything you do.

I want to leave you with three principles that I hope will help you in understanding and achieving balance. Whatever you find yourself in pursuit of, allow yourself to be guided by that of righteousness, peace, and joy.

Righteousness-is this something good, honest, justifiable-is this the right thing to do?
Peace-is my mind in a state of tranquility-calm. Now here’s the thing, you could be faced with doing a difficult thing. For example; walking away from a job or relationship in which you found security, taking a job with responsibilities that may be bigger than you think you’re capable of, or pursuing a relationship after a painful one. But, in the midst of all this, is your mind troubled or is it surprisingly full of peace?

Lastly, joy-is this satisfying- is this something delightful in which pleasure can be taken. We were never told to seek things, putting less of an emphasis on the how-the doing. We are to do as instructed in Matthew 6:33, to seek God’s Kingdom first, and the Kingdom as Paul says in Romans 14:17 is righteousness, peace, and joy. This is the being from which the how-the doing (executing) comes forth.

New Life

The term revival has often generated a strange reaction from me. Initially, I did not
understand why that was. You see, whenever it was mentioned in a gathering of believers,
it would be met with this intense excitement that I just did not share. I would ask God-“am
I missing something?’ You see, whenever I’m not moved in a certain way when the Word
goes forth I always assess self-I’m a self-assessor. But, this is my stance on much of my
interactions because I always want to make sure my heart, my motives are in the clear, and
if they aren’t, then that’s an area that needs work. You see, the issue is never if God’s Word
is true, but in some cases a person may, at the point the Word goes forth, lack a level of
understanding, in some cases they may already get it-it may not be for them in that moment,
or, there may be more layers to uncover.

And this is where I found myself with the notion of revival, more layers to uncover. Revival
is typically preached in a fashion that God would pour out His Spirit so that all, especially
unbelievers, would learn of redemption and be saved-that they would be revived spiritually,
because that is what we’re talking about when we say revival. That dead men and women
would be brought back to life. That is what revival is-it is bringing back life to something
that has died. But, the thing is, unbelievers have never been alive to the things of God.
When you revive something, you are bringing it back to its original state. Why would
anyone want to revive a spiritually dead person to death again? This is why in the natural,
many people have a do not resuscitate order. If they have to come back to the same condition
they were in prior to death, they would just rather die!

Paul says in Ephesians 2:1 that prior to Christ all were dead in their trespasses and sins-verse
five goes on to say but even in this death Christ made us alive. I know you may be saying to
yourself; well, basically both revive and alive mean the same. Technical definition-alive
means living, not dead, whereas revive means restore to life-surely they both result in
something living, play on words, perhaps,but a distinction to be made nonetheless. Long
story short-you must first have been alive spiritually, to have experienced death with the
hopes of being revived. So then, who is revival really for? The answer, the church, and if
so-why are we dead?

“To the angel (divine messenger) of the church in Sardis write:

“These are the words of Him who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know
your deeds; you have a name (reputation) that you are alive, but [in reality] you are dead.
Wake up, and strengthen and reaffirm what remains [of your faithful commitment to Me],
which is about to die; for I have not found [any of] your deeds completed in the sight of My
God or meeting His requirements. So remember and take to heart the lessons you have
received and heard. Keep and obey them, and repent [change your sinful way of thinking,
and demonstrate your repentance with new behavior that proves a conscious decision to turn
away from sin]. So then, if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not
know at what hour I will come to you." (Revelation 3:1-3)

The church of today can be likened to the parable of the ten virgins, five being described as
foolish and five as wise. We know that the five foolish virgins were not prepared as they did
not have enough oil, whereas the five wise had taken the necessary measures to meet the
bridegroom; however, in spite of the five wise virgins' adequate preparations “all” ten fell
asleep while awaiting the bridegroom. And this is where we can find the church-asleep.
(Matthew 25)

Yes, revival is needed, but it must first sweep through the body of Christ so that His full glory
may be on display.

“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)

Not Without a Cause

I recently heard the story of a man who came upon a butterfly in its last stage of development. The butterfly was in the process of emerging from its cocoon, but was caught in a “struggle.” The man upon leaving and returning several times feared the butterfly would never loose itself, and took it upon himself to assist the butterfly. The man widened the opening to the cocoon, thereby making it easier for the butterfly to emerge.

But, as a result of this assistance, the body of the butterfly was grossly engorged, and the wings underdeveloped. The man failed to realize that it was in the “struggle” of the butterfly’s emergence from the cocoon that the excess water would be pushed from the body to that of the wings-thereby making the body slimmer and the wings fuller. You see, the “struggle” is always for a purpose because of what it's trying to produce. The life of King David is one full of such “struggle” and the necessity for it. 

David was Israel’s unlikely champion-slaying Goliath while just a youth. Prior to slaying Goliath, David had been invited to live in King Saul’s home as it was the anointed music of David that eased the King’s distress. 1 Samuel 16: 21 states, “then David came to Saul and attended him, and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer."

Yet eventually, Saul came to despise David because of the people’s praise for him. “The women sang as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Then Saul became very angry, for this saying displeased him.” (1 Samuel 18:7-8) How could David not be adored by the people? Not only was he a warrior, but he was also described as being wise, handsome and a skilled musician, he was the total package!

Saul’s hatred forced David to go on the run, and after hiding in neighboring cities David found himself in the cave of Adullam. There was drawn to him a company of people who were in distress, debt, and discontented and he became captain over them. (1 Samuel 22:1-2) Although David had been anointed King of Israel long before slaying Goliath, it was in a cast out state and among the outcasts that he learned how to lead. It wasn’t out in the public for all to see, but in the caves, during a time of “struggle" that he took a company of men and became a true King.

The “struggle” also released David from the approval of man. It would have been easy for David to fall victim to the praises of others. David found himself in a comfortable spot. He went from the pastures of tending sheep to the King’s palace, to becoming Israel’s champion. And it was after all of this that he was forced into exile.

In this exiled state David had to trust in God completely. He had to learn how to seek God for provision, His will and depend on Him for safety. As long as Saul was alive, David was a man marked for death. Ultimately, the “struggle” helped to develop within David a heart for the people. This is why David is called a man after God’s own heart, because God’s heart is always for the least of these.(Acts 13:22) David was given a company of people who faced one misfortune after another, who looked to him for guidance.

Sure David had some moral failings, we all do. But bigger than these moral failings was the fact that God purposed from the beginning of time that David would be Israel’s favored King, and the lineage through which Christ would be born.

Key things to remember:

#the struggle is bigger than you

#the struggle always produces something

# the struggle is not without cause

#the struggle doesn’t last forever

#the struggle is necessary

If you find yourself in the “struggle,” ask Holy Spirit what is being produced in you. Without the “struggle” of pressure the diamond could never be formed. Without the “struggle” of fire, the pure essence of gold would remain unseen. Without the “struggle” of freedom, the butterfly never takes flight.