'Knowing Our Plumb Line'

can withstand difficult times and adversity. 

Paul says it this way, ‘Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.’ Phil 1:27 ‘Whatever’ happens a lot in our lives. We can’t avoid hardship and things that sideswipe us. Despite ‘whatever’, we are called to live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel is our plumb line. The direction and wisdom of scripture is our spiritual gravitational pull. When we align ourselves with that, we will not fall. 

The key is that we align ourselves with the moral fabric of the universe before ‘whatever happens’. Then we can stand the adversity and chaos. John Maxwell wrote, ‘Trials don’t give us character, they reveal it.’ That is so true. What character you have before the adversity will enable you to stand firm during the adversity. We can’t expect to stand firm when we have not aligned our lives with the moral universe God created.

Paul gives good words that can act as a plumb line for our minds. ‘…whatever is true, …noble, … right, … pure, … lovely, … admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things… [and] put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.’ Phil 3:8-9 If you want peace in your life even when things break loose, get your mental house in order. Allowing the Holy Spirit to order our minds enables us to think and speak in ways that bring the peace of God into the turbulent situation.

I for one am incredibly grateful that I am not left to myself to figure out how to prepare my life for the ‘whatevers’ that occur. Jesus himself is the plumb line by which your lives can be built to last. The Holy Spirit trains our minds so that what we say will reflect what is true, noble, right, pure, excellent, and praiseworthy. God forms the Christian virtues in our lives to save others from our sin. When you see someone being battered by the storms of life, let them know where they can find a firm footing and the peace that only God can give. 

Blessings,

Jonathan