SHALL WE RUN FROM CONFLICT OR CAN WE BENEFIT FROM IT??? 17 NOV 2012

SHALL WE RUN FROM CONFLICT OR CAN WE BENEFIT FROM IT???
Truthers come into conflict with the System’s lies and defenses. Shall we continue to enter into conflict or would hiding the issues and avoiding conflict be better?

Conflict. It’s a sense of grievance that comes out in the open. It’s in all of our lives, and it can cost us. We’ve all seen the damage done by anger in emotional conflicts. Christ warned, “In the world you shall have tribulation.” And he was right, we’ve been in conflict even as an infant fighting over a toy, or in a test of wills with a parent. While we know it will find us, most of us would rather avoid conflict. Conveniently, God does ask us to “seek peace.”

So where is God in the middle of life’s conflicts? and where should we be? Even if things are not rosy, God has His hand on you, and His will shall be done in spite of conflict. For instance, God’s will was done by Esau and Jacob’s conflict. They were twins that fought from the beginning. It took courage on Jacob’s part to face his violent older brother. He used his conflict with Esau to strengthen himself. And that is an important point(!), conflict can be used constructively. And we sometimes have to be brave to use a conflict productively. If we listen we can learn new perspectives and new info; and if we observe and analyze we will learn more about others and ourselves; and if we talk during the conflict we get good practice in communication. Can we also learn to just listen?

King David, who lived a life full of conflicts, humbly wrote, “Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, Nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul…” PS 131:1-2a What is he talking about here??
Anyone want to discuss how to make conflict positive and what benefits a conflict provides us?