Conflict Resolution - Part Three
During the Feast of Trumpets, one of the phrases from the prophetic outlook was that this will be a year of spiritual conflict and God wants to equip us with the wisdom needed to combat those conflicts. In the third and final part of this series, we look at some examples in scripture of avoidance to better understand the heart behind it, why it occurs, and the consequences that it produces.
Fleeing to Egypt
Jerusalem had been conquered by Babylon, King Zedekiah was captured, and they appointed a man named Gedaliah as governor. Gedaliah was assassinated, so the people were now in fear that Babylon would punish them for this. In Jeremiah 42-43, we see an interaction between the remnant of Judah and the prophet Jeremiah where the people are asking for help. Through this interaction, we learn that the heart behind the people's request was not with a pure heart that wanted God's true answer so that they could obey, but they had an ulterior motive behind it.
Futile Reliance On The Nations
Israel was seeking help and security from other nations while refusing to return to God. In Hosea 7:11-14, we saw Ephraim being compared to a silly dove because they were in foolish pursuit of security through the world instead of returning to God. Are you also like that silly dove?
Fleeing Through Self-Reliance On Possessions
Judah was facing the threat of Assyria and seeking security through Egypt. In Isaiah 30:15-16, God was telling them to redirect their confidence and reliance to Him during this conflict, but instead the people decided to rely on their possessions (swift horses) to make an escape. God warns them of their folly by telling them that the ones that pursue them will also be swift. Have you been trusting your ability to escape more than trusting God's instructions?
Fleeing God's Assignment
In Jonah 1:2-3, we see that God gives Jonah instructions, but Jonah flees to Tarshish. I would highly recommend watching Pastor Aaron’s message of God’s Calculated Setup for Revival which goes into deeper layers of this part of scripture.
Disregarding The Work Of The LORD
In Isaiah 5:11-13, God rebukes the people of Judah for indulging in drinking and entertainment while disregarding His work and warnings of coming judgment. In verse 13, we see the byproducts of this is going into captivity and having no knowledge of what God is doing. Are you using something to distract yourself from being about your Father's business?
Joyful In Times Of Mourning (“That’s Out Of Season”)
In Isaiah 22:12-13, God rebukes the people of Jerusalem for responding to the threat of destruction with feasting and drinking instead of the mourning and repentance that He was calling them to. You could say, "that’s out of season" meaning they were doing the wrong thing in the wrong season, which directly relates to the prophet outlook for this year.
Distracting With Pleasure
In Amos 6:3-7, God rebukes the wealthy and powerful in Israel for living in luxury and pleasure while ignoring the nation's spiritual decline and the coming judgment. The people were not watching and not alert because they were distracted with pleasure. In verse 7, we see the byproduct to this is going into captivity and being removed from those pleasures.
Hearing, But Not Changing
In Ezekiel 33:30-32, God is addressing people who listen to the words of the prophet Ezekiel, yet they do not do them. They enjoyed hearing the message (like listening to a lovely song from someone with a plesant voice), yet they were not letting the message become life in their life. James 1:22 reminds us,"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
God's Solution To Conflict
Throughout this series, we saw 3 ways that humans try to handle conflict: aggression, doing things our own way, and avoidance, but what is God's ultimate solution to conflict? Matthew 26:36-56 gives us a clear overview of that. In verses 37-38, we see that Jesus began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed, but how did He react? Did he lash out or run away? No, instead He went to the Father to pray. We too should find ourselves going to the Father when we see conflict before us. In verse 39, He says this well known phrase, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." He brought His distress to the Father, yet He submitted to the will of the Father. Jesus poured out His heart to the Father of what He wanted, yet there was still a submission that took place. In verse 46, Jesus said, "Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand." He knew what was coming and He did not resist the Father's will. Jesus could have call down more than twelve legions of angels, yet that was not the Father's will. Instead, He did not resist being arrested and then cruxified.
Watch The Message
Discussion Questions For Self-Evaluation:
Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict through avoidance? What was the result?
How has this series changed your view on addressing conflict?
Do you feel that there are still areas of your heart that remain divided, or has your heart been fully restored to wholehearted devotion to God?
What part of the word came alive to you from this message?
Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict through avoidance? What was the result? Avoidance became my middle name for a while..all in the name of trying to keep peace. The problem is, nothing got solved that way and then one day I would just blow up at whomever I had been avoiding the conflict with. All the emotion and thougths that had grown so much bigger than they really were, would come out causing a mess and a lot of heartache.
How has this series changed your view on addressing conflict? One of the biggest thing is reminding me that I do not need to solve conlfict all on my own. I don't have to try…
Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict through avoidance? What was the result? There have been multiple times in my life when I have tried to resolve conflict through avoidance. The issue with relying on avoidance is that you create a false sense of peace when the reality is that the conflict is still there. You also rob yourself of the opportunity for God to utilize the situation to develop discernment, trust, faith, and wisdom within your life.
My experience has been that avoidance is just giving the enemy time and space to exploit unresolved issues, allowing resentment, fear, assumptions, and division to take root. What might have been a small conflict that could have been addressed…
Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict through avoidance? What was the result? Yes avoidance never solves it, it allows it to build up till it becomes bigger, worse and more difficult to deal with.
How has this series changed your view on addressing conflict? Hope that conflict is not the end of the situation but it is the vehicle to the promised land. It is the way of life that God intended and not to look at conflict as that’s the way it will be forever. That way it can be resolved with God's help. Seeing the peace and the restoration that comes after gives hope to go through the conflict to experience what God…
Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict through avoidance? What was the result?
Yes, it ended up staying a problem for a while. That eventually got fixed when I addressed it.
How has this series changed your view on addressing conflict? Instead of avoiding conflict, asking God for help is what we should do.
Do you feel that there are still areas of your heart that remain divided, or has your heart been fully restored to wholehearted devotion to God? Not all of the part sof my heart have been restored but it's in a working process of being restored.
What part of the word came alive to you from this message? You can't solve conflict throug avoidance. You…
Excellent Series Rabbi and well done from the beginning to the end.
Do you remember a time when you tried to resolve conflict through avoidance? What was the result? I used to hate conflict because my go to was always avoidance whether it was internally or external conflict. No one had to teach me how to use a broom because I was an expert at sweeping things under the rug until the conflict was exposed and the avoided conflict was exposed The result was always horrible. It ranged from me having an emotional meltdown (tears or anger), feeling embarrassed because I was too prideful to ask for help with the conflict, and relationships would suffer with people that I loved.