Dwell

As I am writing this, it is a gorgeous day in southeast Texas. The air is so mild, the sun is shining, the birds are chirping happily, and the earliest springtime flowers are beginning to bloom their hearts out. In fact, I had my first bluebonnet sighting yesterday, and my favorite tree in the yard is singing God's praises! 

But I also happen to know that my relatives and friends on the east coast, especially in the northeast, are pretty much buried in snow today. A huge blizzard has blown down, and the deep winter chill has settled in for the foreseeable future. We down here are certainly praying for you up there. 

​I spent most of my formative years in Connecticut, and remember how long and dark the winter could feel. Of course, the first snow of the season or a white Christmas was always a welcome dream come true, but after the New Year, the hard part of winter began. The long weeks of dark and cold could really impact life and health. It was important to bring a hat to wear after swim practice, or my wet hair would actually freeze on the way from the natatorium to the car. I learned the hard way that warm socks and boots were a necessity at the bus stop, or I couldn't walk up the bus steps easily. And even with central heating in our home, I remember having to talk myself into getting out of the warm shower because it was going to be so cold. As a teenager, I often used my blow drier not only on my hair, but on myself in general. It hurts to be cold for too long! 

This is also true for the human heart.

My silly teenaged (and admittedly pampered) memories of the dangers of being too cold are nothing compared to the real dangers of actually freezing to death in a blizzard. But what I would like to point out is that the analogy holds—our hearts struggle to survive extended periods of cold. I'd love to get us considering what we think about when our minds get a moment for free thought. There are so many things to think about each day—family, food, clothing, shelter, work—but what do we dwell upon when everything else has been tended?

​For some of us, the moment for free-thought is a wonderful time for worship and prayer, for gratitude and thanksgiving. And thank God for that! But for too many of us, that lull in action is a time to rehearse and re-live something awful that has happened in our past. This is where the kids would say, IYKYK—if you know, you know. 

I must say that I had never understood getting stuck in a negative thought pattern before, but lately I better understand. I am naturally a completely optimistic person, and have never been truly mistreated by anyone of importance in my life. But recent events have helped me know that when someone hurts us, the temptation becomes living and re-living that scenario again and again. It suddenly brings up the temptation to fantasize about endless imaginary conversations with the perpetrator, letting them know exactly what we think, even imagining worst-case scenarios for them (which reveals that our own hearts are no better!). 

It is so strange to feel so angry for such a long period of time, and it is easy to see that such a thought pattern is not helpful or life-giving. Jesus encourages us to forgive, and even shares His grace with us to do so, but it is just not easy or natural for any of us. And the real danger is that what we think about, we will become.  With this real and present danger lurking, the question at hand becomes...how do we get out of such a rut?

We must daily thaw our hearts. 

Just like me and my blow drier from long ago, we have to take the initiative to warm up our hearts before the cold sets in forever. 

Of course, there is a wonderful passage of scripture to turn to for help! Let's look at the letter that the apostle Peter wrote, what we now call the book of Second Peter. Take a fresh look at the first few verses...

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From: Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To: Those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours...(That's you and me!)

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

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Peter, who certainly must have known a thing or two about the temptation of dwelling on hurtful things, encourages us to actively remember the amazing things God has done and made possible. He reminds us that God has given us everything we need to live an amazing, godly life of peace, joy, and love. We don't have to become stuck in the rut of becoming nearsighted and blind. Through Christ, we can have mastery of ourselves, we don't have to be frozen-hearted and stuck, and we can love and forgive one another in an increasing manner. 

When we find ourselves trapped in a rut of anger and unforgiveness, it means we've forgotten the most important thing. We must stop and remember the gospel! 

What is the gospel? Literally, it means the good news. Historically, when a king won a battle, a soldier would announce the victory in the home city with a great shout, "Gospel!" It means the king has prevailed and victory has been won—the kingdom is advancing. And this is what Peter is reminding his readers about with his letters: our great King Jesus has defeated death and His kingdom is advancing all the time. The great evil that was unleashed in the world by rebellion can and will be overcome by the goodness, hope and love of Christ. We are not helpless and doomed, and this truly is great news! 

All of this sounds infinitely better and more life-giving for contemplation than a hurtful situation. How odd that so many of us default to dwelling on something horrible when we could be thinking about the most powerful and wonderful thing in the cosmos. 

​My husband and I listened to an old Tim Keller sermon about this letter from Peter, and Keller pointed out the fact that our hearts are so warped by sin that the many good things that people say and do to us don’t stick, while the bad things that people say and do to us do stick. The people who love us can say and do hundreds of wonderful things to and for us, but we are all much more likely to dwell on the one terribly hurtful thing that happens. 

If we dwell on affirmation, we are confident. 

If we dwell on the hurts, we are likely to become bitter and angry.

What we think about, we become.

The world doesn't need even one more bitter person to wreak havoc. The enemy's greatest trick is to use us to hurt one another—we too often do the dirty work for him. Our families and friends and neighbors will be blessed as we let Jesus melt our cold hearts, and make us into people who shine brightly in the darkness. Our lives can be so filled with joy and peace as we let God fill us with grace and forgiveness.

Take a moment to re-read that advice from Peter. "Make every effort," he says. Please recall that Peter is the one who denied Jesus three times at His hour of greatest need. It must have been a terrible temptation for him to kick himself over that one night for the rest of his days. In this letter, he is telling us what he learned about overcoming that temptation--remember the good news of Jesus every day, and you can be confident and filled with hope! Your frozen heart can melt with the warm and gentle breeze of the Spirit living in you.

If you would like even more of an encouraging refresher of the good news of Jesus Christ, I encourage you to take the time to read the introductory remarks to all of the other letters in the New Testament. Let your heart be warmed and filled with the confidence and hope that Jesus brings—His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord!