Stop it!

Over the last few weeks, the Lord has led me to write about getting back to yourself, finding your joy and releasing all of the “stuff” that has held you hostage. As I thought about that, a question popped into my head. How much is your peace worth to you? My immediate answer was A LOT! Right? I’m sure your answer was similar. But then the follow up question came. If that is the case, why is it so easily sacrificed? Wait…what? Not true, Lord! But the more I thought about it the more truth I saw. How often do you make decisions based on someone else’s comfort and disregard your own? I don’t mean as a mother for your children or doing a nice deed. I mean when you know that you should say no, have heard the Lord say no, but you said yes to appease someone else. How many times have you gone along with the program for the sake of keeping “the peace” but the only one suffering is you? Today is really a simple challenge…own your peace.

I watched Maya Angelou specials all afternoon on Sunday, interview after interview. She was a woman of great wisdom and there were so many nuggets packed in her words but one statement stood out to me. “Stop it!” She said, and I’m paraphrasing, at some point you have to learn to cut people and things off that mean you harm whether intentional or not. It struck a chord in me because I know that there are times when I have let some things go on for too long in my life without addressing them. I’m talking about things, people and situations that I knew were not adding value to my life but I didn’t want to disappoint or disrupt. Not a good look, folks! And usually, the outcome of this is Ebony having a headache, Ebony stressed out, Ebony needing a break. Why? Because I didn’t value my peace enough to say STOP IT! The Lord brought Mary and Martha to mind. Do you remember when Jesus visited their home and Martha was all over the place, stressed and mad because Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening and resting while she was working? “But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10: 39 -42 NLT) Mary could have responded and reacted but she let Jesus handle it and stayed where she needed to be. Mary valued her peace and her purpose and she was not moved by someone else’s opinion about what she “should” be doing. Martha, on the other hand, was so disrupted by what someone else was doing that she missed a key time with the Lord. It’s worth examining which role you would play in this story.  Are you Mary or Martha? Own your peace.

Isn’t amazing how you can wake up feeling great and get around someone who is depressing or angry and all of a sudden your mood takes a turn for the worse? This happens a lot in churches and in offices! I’ve seen people laughing and having a great time and one person with a bad attitude comes in and changes the whole atmosphere. It took a while to get there but I now see it as an opportunity to practice keeping your peace. I was taught a long time ago to be a thermostat and not a thermometer. A thermometer changes according to the atmosphere. But a thermostat changes the atmosphere. Think about it, how often have you allowed yourself to be a thermometer? Perhaps you have taken on the pains and stresses of the world and others, when they weren’t yours to take and it changed you. Perhaps your peace took a backseat to any number of people and things and you’re finding it hard to get it back. Paul gave us great advice in Ephesians 4:31 that I think speaks to what you should not allow in your space. The NLT says, “Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk.” If you don’t protect your peace, who will? If you don’t say the peace that God has given to me is worth keeping, who will? If you don’t say “stop it!” to people that are sucking the life out of you, who will? You have to own your peace! How do you that? Keep your mind stayed on the Lord and He will keep you in perfect peace. (Is. 26:3) Acknowledge that Christ “took the punishment that made us whole.” (Is. 53:5 MSG) Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. (Col. 3:15) Own your peace.

Let me just say this as I close. You deserve to have peace. You have given a lot of yourself for the sake of others but now it’s time to make decisions and choices that will help you to live in that peace. It’s up to you. No one should be allowed to come in and affect you to the point where your peace is lost. Own your peace…it’s worth it! “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thess 3:16) AMEN