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Currently, we are 4000 feet up a mountain. It is not quite Spring here. The trees are still bare. Some are starting to sprout green buds and if I look carefully I can see tiny purple wildflowers peeking through the grass.
With the overcast sky today though and the cold air it definitely feels more Winter than Spring.
And yet three hours down the road, where I live, the sky is blue, the grass a deep green and all the trees have budded, blossomed and bloomed. The difference is tangible!
Isn’t that the way it is though, sometimes in life? One person can be in the Springtime of their lives. New growth, sunny days, and all things fresh and new. And another person is settled solidly in winter. Hibernating from the cold, bunkered down and waiting for Springtime to come.
Sometimes even our daily lives can feel like that. One day filled with hope and expectation. The next day feeling cloudy, cold, and dreary. That’s the thing with the weather. It can be unpredictable and ever-changing.
However, we are not called to be thermometers, living our lives according to the current temperature or weather pattern; being swayed and influenced by the current conditions.
As people of faith, we are called to be thermostats. Those who are able to set the temperature wherever we go.
We’ve all met ‘those people’. They walk into a room or a meeting and immediately the atmosphere shifts. Everything feels more hopeful and achievable.
Or perhaps you have experienced the opposite? As soon as that person opens their mouth, everything just feels too hard and complicated.
Maybe you have even been one of them?
I know I have.
And I know which one I would rather be!
Before you get started that it’s just a ‘personality thing’ - and to some extent it is. We need to remember that we are MORE than just our personalities.
As spiritual beings in a physical body, we are not limited to our souls - our mind, will, and emotions. They are subject to our spirit that is connected to Holy Spirit, who is the ultimate thermostat!
Jesus was a perfect example of this. Even as He was being interrogated by Pilate, He stayed in peace. He stayed in silence. Jesus didn’t come under fear or intimidation. He didn’t allow His circumstances or the atmosphere to influence who He was or what He carried inside of Him. Purpose and peace.
So much so that He actually influenced Pilate’s attitude towards Him.
No matter what season you are in at the moment or what kind of day you might be having, remember who sets the temperature!
You have the ability to shift the atmosphere in a meeting, at home with the kids, or even in your daily conversations with people.
Never forget we have access to the Creator of all strategies and solutions. He is living right inside of us just wanting to partner with us to bring Heavenly strategies for Earth’s solutions. To bring hope, peace, and a quiet expectation for all things good to the circumstances and people around us, no matter what the ‘weather conditions’ may be predicting.
What strategy or solution can you partner with God today for?
Can you share a time when you recognized the atmosphere and made a conscious effort to shift it? What did you do?