by Danna Shirley ~ 1990 (All scripture references are the NKJV)
What
does it mean to be in ONENESS, to be in unity and harmony with yourself
and with others? God promises peace to His children, peace verses strife and
discord. I often wondered why God’s peace eluded me most of the time,
especially when His Word promised it everywhere I looked.
You will keep him
in perfect PEACE .
. . (Isaiah 26:3)
Then your PEACE
would have been like a river . . . (Isaiah 48:18b)
Let us pursue the
things which make for PEACE . . .
(Romans 14:19)
And the PEACE of
God . . . will guard your hearts and minds . . . (Philippians 4:7-9)
And let the PEACE
of God rule in your hearts . . . (Colossians 3:15-17)
Of
course, I was only focusing on the part of Scripture that I wanted to claim. If
you will examine each of the above Scriptures in their entirety, you will find
that there is also a condition clause to enter into this PEACE. It is so with
every promise in God’s Word if you will search it out. Take any subject, study
all the Scripture references on that topic and you will find that you cannot
claim God’s promises without fulfilling His condition to that promise.
So,
where was this PEACE, this ONENESS, this unity and harmony that I wanted to
have within myself, with my family, with my friends and neighbors, with my
brethren? There was a Scripture that would always come to my mind whenever
anything was going well . . .
[Christ] —from whom
the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the
effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of
the body for the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:16)
It
seemed to apply in every good situation, but never in bad
situations. I finally looked up the ONE passage (Ephesians 4:1-6)
. . .
Walk in Unity ~ I, therefore, the
prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you
were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one
another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace. There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you were
called in ONE hope
of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of
all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
As
a child of God, I committed to walk worthy of this calling. It has taken me
years of growth, peaks and valleys, to realize exactly what this meant. Sometimes
I grew fast, sometimes not at all, and other times I lost ground; I might feel
like a failure, completely unworthy of this calling, and other times I was
perfectly at peace in His will.
I
began to wonder, “Is there ever a time when a I can get it right and keep it
right, all the time?” Being in ONENESS . . . being in unity and
harmony within myself, with my fellow man, with the Lord? How does it happen?
The
Word has already told us . . .
with all lowliness
and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (vs 2-3)
Sounds
so simple, doesn’t it?
I can be humble!
I can be gentle with others . . . if
they’ll just do right!
I can be patient with others . . . if
they’ll just do right!
I can love my fellow man . . . if they’ll just do right!
I can be in unity with everyone . . .
if they’ll JUST DO RIGHT!!!
So,
humility, gentleness, patience, love, and unity depend on how others act first?
NO!
If
I am out of harmony with myself and with the Lord, then I am out of harmony
with others.
So,
do I need to work on myself first? YES!
HOW?
There is ONE
body and ONE Spirit, just as you were called in ONE hope of your
calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith,
ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all, who is above
all, and through all, and in you all. (vs 4-6)
So,
why was I not able to achieve this harmony? I wanted to. I tried very hard.
That was the problem. I was trying very hard to do it within myself, by myself,
without submitting to the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit . . . over me, through me,
or in me!
As
failure after failure, with family, friends, and brethren increased, I realized
I could not achieve this harmony under my own steam, or at least not do a very
good job of it. I began to turn more areas of my life over to God, one at a
time, until I really began to feel that peace, that ONENESS, that harmony which
enabled me to live a life worthy of His calling.
In
other words—I became fitly joined together with Jesus and He opened my eyes to
the harmony I desired, the gentleness I desired, the patience I desired, the
love I desired. I finally gave up my control and allowed Him to work over me, through
me, and in me.
As
I became fitly joined together with Jesus, it became easier to be fitly joined
together with others in every situation I encountered . . . at school, baseball
league, Bible study, prayer group, inside the church with believers, outside
the church with unbelievers. If I let Jesus work over me, through me, and in me
with anyone in any situation, then we all became closer to being fitly joined
together in love to accomplish our purpose.
Walking
with Jesus can be the longest, straightest, narrowest path we’ll ever walk but
the most satisfying, fulfilling, and rewarding experience we’ll ever encounter!
However, it must be a solid walk, never wavering, crossing every hurdle thrown
on your path, overcoming unforgiveness, anger, judgment, doubt and unbelief,
worry and fear, gossip, valley experiences, etc.
HOW? By being fitly
joined together with Jesus, facing every day with Him, resting in His timing,
allowing Him to mold and shape us, giving Him thanks for every situation . . .
. . . that we
should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful
plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into
Him who is the
head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every
joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every
part does its share, causes growth of
the body for the edifying of itself in love. (vs 14-16)
Now,
won’t you be fitly joined together with Jesus?
*************************************
(Note:
When I wrote this in 1990, I was struggling to find that peace. As I have
reread it now, I realize I did find that peace and I’ve lived in it for many,
many years; even when I lost my husband to pneumonia in 2003. The decision to
surrender into God’s hands brought that peace I had been seeking. Oh, I still
have those peaks and valleys to navigate, as we all do, but looking back on my
life now, I see God’s hand buoying me up above the storm every time.)
Danna
Shirley ~ 2024 (34 years later)