Are You Settled Or Settled?
Even those of us with a little wanderlust in our souls love coming home. It's where we're comfortable, and it's where we can kick off our shoes and relax. Home is a safe, comforting place that draws us back at the end of the day.
As retired military, we've learned not to get too settled. Had Danny not retired in 2007, we would probably have moved at least two more times since then. It's funny to think about it that way, since we've been here in Iowa for four years already. We don't want to get stuck in a rut, but it's quite nice to finally put down roots. Unless God shows us another path, we're here to stay.
Peter wrote in his first epistle about this very topic, but took it in a very different direction. Settled in his mind meant being made stable, establishing, being secured to a firm foundation. This speaks of the hand of God resting on us instead of us sitting back and refusing to go anywhere else.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11
We can never have all of those blessings in our earthly homes. There are too many events that could happen - fire, flood, change of job, health problems - that can remove us from our physical house. Peter speaks of a calming comfort straight from God Himself, a establishing that goes beyond concrete foundations and brick walls.
The other times this word is used in Scripture, it refers to being founded upon a rock, rooted and grounded in love. There's nothing there about being tied to a physical place or resistant to change. God inspired His writers to use this particular word because it took their eyes off themselves and their immediate surroundings and turned them straight to Him.
Change is a scary thing, but the outside influences in our lives don't begin to compare to the strengthening the Lord is doing inside us every day. If we're too comfortable in our ways, we won't grow. If we're settled in, happy with the way life is, we're often resistant to the changes He places before us.
"But I'm happy here. It's comfortable and familiar. Why would I want anything to change?"
God settles us in ways we could never have predicted. We're able to take on tomorrow knowing that He will never change, even if our circumstances do. He knows that we will suffer here on earth, but those experiences make us stronger and more mature in our faith. God's definition of the word settled forces us to focus on Him regardless of our circumstances.
So are you settled today or are you settled? One resists change while the other finds comfort in a changeless God. One is built on shifting sand while the other establishes and grounds us. One makes us anxious of what tomorrow may bring while the other strengthens us for whatever comes our way.
The Lord will make you perfect, establish you, strengthen you and settle you when you are rooted and grounded in Him. That's the kind of settled that brings us blessings beyond measure.
As retired military, we've learned not to get too settled. Had Danny not retired in 2007, we would probably have moved at least two more times since then. It's funny to think about it that way, since we've been here in Iowa for four years already. We don't want to get stuck in a rut, but it's quite nice to finally put down roots. Unless God shows us another path, we're here to stay.
Peter wrote in his first epistle about this very topic, but took it in a very different direction. Settled in his mind meant being made stable, establishing, being secured to a firm foundation. This speaks of the hand of God resting on us instead of us sitting back and refusing to go anywhere else.
But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10-11
We can never have all of those blessings in our earthly homes. There are too many events that could happen - fire, flood, change of job, health problems - that can remove us from our physical house. Peter speaks of a calming comfort straight from God Himself, a establishing that goes beyond concrete foundations and brick walls.
The other times this word is used in Scripture, it refers to being founded upon a rock, rooted and grounded in love. There's nothing there about being tied to a physical place or resistant to change. God inspired His writers to use this particular word because it took their eyes off themselves and their immediate surroundings and turned them straight to Him.
Change is a scary thing, but the outside influences in our lives don't begin to compare to the strengthening the Lord is doing inside us every day. If we're too comfortable in our ways, we won't grow. If we're settled in, happy with the way life is, we're often resistant to the changes He places before us.
"But I'm happy here. It's comfortable and familiar. Why would I want anything to change?"
God settles us in ways we could never have predicted. We're able to take on tomorrow knowing that He will never change, even if our circumstances do. He knows that we will suffer here on earth, but those experiences make us stronger and more mature in our faith. God's definition of the word settled forces us to focus on Him regardless of our circumstances.
So are you settled today or are you settled? One resists change while the other finds comfort in a changeless God. One is built on shifting sand while the other establishes and grounds us. One makes us anxious of what tomorrow may bring while the other strengthens us for whatever comes our way.
The Lord will make you perfect, establish you, strengthen you and settle you when you are rooted and grounded in Him. That's the kind of settled that brings us blessings beyond measure.
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