Hey blog family! What a tight knit group we are! Thank you for accepting me into the sisterhood so far. Where are all the male bloggers? We need some testosterone in this group, no offense ladies. Real men blog, bottom line. Sounds like a great sermon title...
Like I said in our first blog we will be featuring different people's insight on our Give. Pray. Love. blog. This week we will be submitting Francesca Hafner's dialogue on strife. Francesca and her husband Billy have been active and faithful members of Kingdom Life Fellowship almost since the beginning. They have a beautiful family that is growing all the time. Right now, the Hafner's are spending lots of time staring lovingly into the eyes of their newest member, Madeline. And wow, did I mention that Fran can write? She is an insanely gifted writer. Not only that, but what she says is extremely revelatory. Enjoy!!!
Give. Pray. Love.
Brandon
The End of Strife
by Francesca Hafner
My goal right now is to be at peace within myself. I want my spirit to be at peace with my body. I want my spirit to be at peace with my soul. There has been strife between my spirit and my body and my soul for some years now. My spirit could not be at peace with my body while my body fulfilled the desires of the flesh. My spirit could not be at peace with my soul while it was unrenewed. This strife has caused unrest, fear, condemnation, shame and guilt when it is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free.
Strife is defined in the Strong’s as electioneering or intriguing for office. When there is strife within a believer it is because an election is going on. In the natural world we have seen many elections. They are normally dirty. Each “candidate” is trying to undermine the others and make their ways seem like the best. They try to always put their best foot forward, but inevitably the truth comes out.
Consider your spirit, soul and body candidates for office within you. All want to be the leader, but only one can. The soul wants you to bow to every emotion and give in to every desire of the will. Your soul makes you believe that you should just do what you feel like doing, what you want to do. This will make you happy.
Your body wants you to obey it. What are its limits or its desires? This is the deciding factor. Is your body tired? Then submit to it. Is your body sick? Then submit to it. Is your body out of control? Then by all means let it lead. This is what your body wants.
But last, there is a better way. You spirit also wants to lead. Your spirit, the part of you that connects deeply to the heart of God. Your spirit is the part of you that can see into the heavenlies, into the future and into the potential of man and yourself. Your spirit is the part of you that lives in heavenly places.
If we live from our soul or body, we lived from the part of us that is flawed. But, when we live by our spirit, we live by the part of us that is perfect. If I have the opportunity to live from perfection, I want to meditate on that. I want to press on towards that. We have the power and authority through Christ to determine how we live out life. But, our flesh is like an unruly kid. If you give it an inch, it will take a mile. I am tired of living life out of the flawed; I want to live out of the flawless. I want to do, be, and attain everything God has stored up for me. But, first, I want the end of strife. No more campaigns, no more elections. The polls are closed. A leader has been chosen.
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4 comments:
I want to live and love flawless too! Great thoughts. Thanks for sharing.
Here's a lie I believe over and over and over concerning this topic:
This time really won't make a difference.
For example the area where my body wants to eat what it wants to eat instead of having something I know is healthy. I think this time really won't make a difference. It's just one meal. (The problem of course is that it’s not just ONE meal!)
Same thing with exercise. A good thing, but I just think about how working out this one time won’t make a difference.
So, my body wins again even though my spirit is yelling for the higher thing!
So the strife continues. The election continues! You’re right. My soul and body has been like an unruly kid in the area of eating and exercising.
I actually read this post yesterday and thought about it all evening. I woke up in the middle of the night and began to think about it again. I felt like the Lord was whispering to me, “It’s Time.”
It is time that I end this strife. It brings no peace. I’m not really getting my way when I think I am. I told the Lord that I needed his help. I know he wouldn’t tell me it’s time to work on this area in my life if he wasn’t going to help me.
Thank you Francesca!
fran that has cleared up alot of things that i have been goin thru lately. at work my body tries to rule. at home my flesh soul tries to rule. i have been frustrated for a while now because i have not allowed my spirit to rule always. thank you for your revelation. you are truly a blessing to the body and i pray that your gifting of writing would increase. more, more,more for fran so she can glorify Jesus!!!
Francesca what a great word! So often I want to think my soul and spirit are the same, your definition brings me revelation! I'm encouraged and motivated, thanks...
Kristina
ps- This is my first experience even reading a blog! Maybe I'll get sucked in....
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