Sometimes You've Gotta Choose Your Battles...

Ever heard someone say: "You've gotta know when to choose your battles?"  Usually in reference to child rearing, right?  Like... Your kid can't stand eating broccoli, so you decide to toss it in the food processor, throw it in with some other ingredients so that when he/she eats said broccoli, they're completely oblivious and no war was waged in the process?   Yep... gotta choose the battle.

Now, I'm not one for gratuitous violence of any kind... not one for strife and definitely not a fan of arguing... Seriously, I'd rather spend my time sipping mai tai's off the coast of some tropical paradise, wind blowing in my hair and sand between my toes. Not that I've ever done that, but consider it added to my bucket list! 

I've noticed a trend, though... I've noticed the notion of "picking battles" has precariously transitioned into picking NO battles at all... We live and let live. Be and let be. With ourselves, our family, our friends... etc.  And other times, we pick the wrong battle.  Distracted by flashes and lights, we wave our proverbial swords over and under... slashing away at mere shadows of what is. We turn on ourselves and we turn on each other and often our enemy sits idly on the sidelines of our lives with a sinister grin as we do the work for him... 

I am a follower of Jesus.  I believe the Bible is God's truth and the most effective means for discerning which battles to engage, and I've gotta say... I have chosen a few!  And the few I have chosen can really be summed up into one - I have chosen to contend, to wrestle, to battle, to strive for this one thing - PEACE!  Writing this during the Season where "Peace on Earth..." is a running tag line, I'm sure I risk coming off as cliche.  However, I want to submit that PEACE is perhaps a different entity than we have supposed.

I think we have supposed that PEACE is the absence of conflict...  The word Peace in the Hebrew language is Shalom... this word, recorded in the Biblical text from which we derive the notion of "peace on earth" (the heralded angel anthem), literally means "Nothing Missing.  Nothing Broken."  In the gospels Jesus, teaches that those who would choose to "make" Peace would be Blessed and called the "Son's" of God! (Matt 5:9)  I want to submit to you, that "making" peace will often be accompanied by great effort and even conflict!  I know - a bit of a contradiction, right?  Not if we understand the essence of peace.  If we are missing something or something is broken, either in our personal existence, in the environment we live in, in the broader community where we exist, in our Nation, the World, etc... then there needs to be effort made to restore peace.  The restoration of Peace requires action!  It requires engaging!  It's interesting to note that Jesus said: "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!" (More on that in another post) Suffice it to say, I think we've become a little too comfortable with missing and broken things.  And I think we need to shift our mindset to the relentless pursuit of PEACE!  I feel an urgency in my spirit over this issue!  We have mistaken Peace for Passivity and we have forgotten that it is NOT simply up to God, but that we are CO-Laborers WITH Him!  (1Cor 3:9) We have a role to play in the "making" of the wholeness and mending that so desperately needs to take place on this planet! 

This is not just an idea that strolled across my mind one day and I decided to write about it... This is something I have developed into as a lifestyle and something I still have to CHOOSE!  I remember the 1st time I contended for peace, I was 5 years old.  True Story! You can imagine, I did NOT look like some spiritual guru or super hero conglomerate, with my spidy senses all intact as I wielded my magic sword conquering the peace thieves attacking me... Lol!  I looked like a 5 year old.  I spent many years in my childhood plagued with what has effectively been termed now as "night terrors."  Speculate as you wish on the "deeper" reasons for this phenomenon, and believe me I had a few... I will tell you with great confidence, however, that this is one of the MANY direct spiritual attacks on the minds of Children that comes straight from the devil!  I used to see horrendous figures and faces taunting me, coming at me with the threat of causing me great harm, etc.  I would actually "sleep" through much of these episodes as I was literally too terrified to form sound in my vocal chords.  I could not produce a scream.  I did, however, produce a few... and on one particular occasion, my Mother, who has been an RN since before I was born was attempting to sneak in a sufficient amount of sleep before her next shift  - had had enough!  She was ready to contend for her peace and ready to arm me with the tools necessary to contend for my own!  I vividly remember her coming into my room after I had abruptly awakened her with my hair raising screams... She did not come in softly.  She swung open the door, flipped on the light, took one look at me and said with great authority: "Alright!  I've had it!!!  This is going to stop RIGHT NOW!!!"  Can you imagine?  Kind of counterculture, don't ya think???  I'm guessing Parent magazine would likely pass on the cover story, and yet what followed changed the course of my life forever and continues to do so... With fire in her eyes and fervency in her voice, she looked me square in the eyes and said: "The next time you see those things coming toward you, I want you to say OUT LOUD - God has not given me the spirit of fear, but the spirit of love, power and a sound mind.  You leave in the name of Jesus!" And just in case there might have appeared another option, she ended with: "And don't you call me again!"  I laugh when I think about it now, but you can just imagine what a shock that must have been to my system... (Sometimes we NEED our systems shocked!) Not exactly the response I was expecting, however... She tucked me back in bed, prayed over me and turned the light off and went back to bed.  You guessed it... the terrors came back, and just because I knew what to do, doesn't mean it was any less terrifying!  I literally pulled the covers up over my head, trying to hide from the visions before me and with the wimpiest, littlest, quietest sound I could squeak past my racing heart, I whispered the words my Mother had given me... and then I made the command. "Go, in Jesus name!"  It wasn't authoritative to be sure and yet, I wasn't using my own authority, so that was okay... I will never forget how quickly the visions vanished at the mention of that name!  Instantly GONE!  If there was time and space here, I could recount to you numerous other scenarios where I have had to stand my ground when things were broken.  I've heard Joyce Meyer say a catchy phrase numerous times: "New level. New devil."  Sounds a bit comedic, but it's true.  Some things come instantly, like that night 31 years ago, when I overcame with a squeaky whisper and THE name.  As I have grown, however, I have had to last a little longer, sometimes a LOT longer! The key is are you willing to engage, or do you feel so defeated that you've lost in your mind before you ever begin?  Sometimes, you have to stand your ground and refuse to back up.  I promise you it will not necessarily be easy.  I promise, you will have to choose.  I promise you whatever your facing will seem more tenacious than you are.  I promise many times it will look hopeless.  And I challenge you to know when to CHOOSE the battle for your peace!  To choose the battle for the peace of your family, your community, your nation, your world.  ^"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians 6:12  "Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance." Hebrews 6:12  "And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die."  Revelation 12:11

Don't let the fear of the fight keep you from choosing the battle!  PEACE - Nothing Missing. Nothing Broken. It's worth contending for! Sometimes you've gotta CHOOSE your battles...