Hard Conversations

I have had something on my heart for awhile now, but I have delayed in writing it down as I have been trying to understand it and flesh it out on my own--and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Within our homes, businesses/workplaces, churches and beyond, most believers advocate for and pray for unity. We believe "where's there's unity, there's victory."

I can't remember a time in my life when all I had to do was pray for unity and it happen. Praying for unity is a step in the right direction, but there were only a few times in the Bible, that I can find, when unity happened miraculously.

🕊️ The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 1-4) when the Holy Spirit descended upon the early disciples and enabled them to speak in other tongues which unified them in their mission.

🕍 The Building of the Temple (1 Kings 8:1-3). Solomon dedicated the temple, all the elders and leaders came together in unity to bring the Ark of the Covenant. God filled the temple, signifying miraculous unity among the people.

🐟 Feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-4) Jesus miraculously unified the people by feeding 5,000 from five loaves and two fishes.

I have had to have more hard conversations than I can count with family members, friends, team members and others in order to live in peace. A lot of these conversations wouldn't have ever happened if I didn't start them.

Why?

Because hard conversations are just that: HARD

No one likes them. No one looks forward to them. But if we claim to be a believer in Christ, we must have truthful conversations for the sake of the kingdom. We must have them to remain united.

If we look to the Bible, we will find many more examples of unity obtained through action.

🙏 Early church leaders convened to address the issue of whether Gentile believers should follow Jewish law. Through DISCUSSION and prayer, they reached a consensus, demonstrating that action and dialogue were necessary to maintain unity. (Acts 15)

💌 Paul wrote so many letters to the churches in Corinth and Ephesus emphasizing the need for unity among the believers. He often took action by writing, teaching, and addressing the issues to foster unity within the church.

How do we achieve unity in all the spaces along our journey?

According to the Bible, it's by embracing humility (Philippians 2:3), by practicing love (Colossians 3:14), by communicating openly (Ephesians 4:15), by forgiving one another (Colossians 3:13), by praying together (Matthew 18:20), and by encouraging one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

By all means, we should pray for unity. But we can't forget that the Word of God leads us to take action. Unity is worth fighting for. 💪🏼