Five Second Delay

During this time, it isn't easy to decipher those who have surrendered. We lack the luster of our change. To be a light in this world, one must fuel the fire. How often are we confused by the contradictions of life and limited in our glow? We can restrict by judging those around us rather than bathing them in the light and love of Christ.

Who are we but sinners ourselves? If we do not admit our faults and imperfections, we lie in the belly of sin, plummeting into the quicksand of expectation and judgment. How dare we claim to love a forgiving and just God and not be reaching to pull another from this plight in the same breath?

We are a healthy body when united in the acts of sainthood. When we realize it is by God's grace and His grace alone, are we not left to wallow in man's sin? Together can be a force, but a positive effect is not limiting. An army of good or bad draws power and strength from its masses. We need, as faithful Christians, to be that kind of force. We must stop the madness of figuring out our differences and seeking our likeness to our creator.

As a single entity of this force, you can remain steadfast in your convictions. God continues the authority, and genuine belief does not come from us but only by the intentional focus on Christ.

We waste so much time deciding who is and is not acting the right way. Waste is part of our negligence. Covering our realness is a mistake. People around us seek this same acceptance by spending too little time working to be like Christ and taking at least five seconds to go to Him first!

It’s not always easy to claim trusting behavior, but we must trust compassionate everyday living. One can wake to the world with beauty and acceptance and then, in an instance, shake loose like a tree in a storm. It confuses between one way and another.

The harshest storms can bend the tree's trunk, and this same storm tries its best to knock a steadfast tree may tremble and lose pieces of itself. As each little twig wiggles free, the tree acts helpless. The strongest of trees withers, and its bold branches pull down, almost frowning. The eyes of the tree scan the surroundings, and hopelessness slips into its strong core. If we leave a woodpecker to attack a sturdy tree and left unattended, it could damage the sturdy stronghold it had claimed, and roots may uplift.

So, what if our trees shake? The spirit of the tree is forever, and we don’t contain it in one place or destiny. It is how one stands on the premise of, I will not sway. You can take my branches, my leaves, but my heart surrenders. My heart did this long ago, and no storm can bring the spirit of my Jesus from within me.

With each attack, one must seek Him first, and it will make all new. Every broken twig and fallen leaf is essential, and He will use him or her to build you up. Our Father uses everything, and He provides constant tenacity and strength in our storms. Our surrender comes through faith and complete trust in Him. We must shoo away the woodpeckers and schemes against us to remain stable.

Life is like a tree in a storm. Yes, we shake, tremble, and lose a few pieces here and there as the attacks come, but nothing can take away your soul once you surrender. What if we impart a five-second delay to our thoughts and actions? What if every time we shake or tremble and give energy to our storm, we say, “STOP” and count to five? Better yet, what if in those five seconds we say, “I SURRENDER ALL TO HIM.” See five critical words, five seconds. How about that for a five-second delay?

Now it is correct there will be moments when it is tough to remember in the flesh to count one, two, three, four, five and to state, “I SURRENDER ALL TO HIM!” This belief is why we have sisters and brothers in Christ to count us down and pray us through. But if we are the body, why aren’t His arms reaching? Why are His arms not healing? We are the body of Christ, and we can change the world through any storm, up and over any mountain, in any raging situation as long as we remember the five-second delay. We all need help in this earthly body as we succumb to the distractions, but by the blood of Christ, our trees remain firm in the flowing of the Holy Spirit through our solid trunks, our soul, our center.

See Romans Chapter 7 Torn Between One Way And Another from The Message Bible

Referenced above is Romans Chapter 7 of the message Bible, one of my favorite passages. It is about being torn between one way and another. In the flesh, we live a life of temptation and attack. This sinful nature that causes us to rage simmers. People want to do right, but we struggle to do what our heart desires. The proverbial, “the mind is willing, but the flesh weakens.” How true this statement is, and Romans. Chapter 7 is such a beautiful passage addressing this truth. I suppose if we as Christians became a natural body of Christ, we became the arms that heal, the hands that reach, and the strength to hold one another up and hold one accountable. Well then, nothing could have power over our desires to follow Christ and to work to be more like Him each day. In all circumstances, God is always there, never letting go, yet we lose our grip. How fortunate are we that His grip never loosens?

We can be a body of Christ that is always reaching, always loving, and always seeking the desires of God. Do not be fearful, as God is a forgiving and loving God. Be approachable and imperfect, stronger than any attack or circumstance. Be a light that draws many to it. We can do all this if we remember the five empowering words' five-second delay.

In life, we will battle the flesh and the will of sin, but as we already know, there is strength in the word of God. There’s revelation of knowledge for His desires for His kingdom to surrender all. While it is robust in our bodies, everyone will fall short, often needing to regroup as the body of Christ goes to Him as the attacks come. Trust in Him as the way when there is no other way. How amazing would life be if we could use the five-second delay to believe in God and His plan rather than go to our flesh-bound fears and reactions? So when we are at the end of our rope and think no one gets it, we will remember Jesus does. He gets us. It has us and holds us in every way and every day. Set things right on the cross when His flesh pierced for our sin. God is always present in this world of contradictions! He is the way to freedom from the chains of sin now and forever. He is the reason to remember to count to five and surrender!

Have you ever wondered how the violent storms had uprooted some of the biggest and boldest trees? Are they left to lie scattered and displaced as they have succumbed to the attack of the fierce winds? We then break them down into firewood and kindling, or some other form, to disperse to the world in need of fuel. The tree that stood prominently moves away, yet it remains in the memory of those it presented itself. How about that, Christians? Does this analogy remind you of anything? I think it does, the CROSS. Jesus was on a cross. Jesus suffered for our sins, died, and rose again so we could live in Him and He in us. The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and His cross are the root of our being. His Holy Spirit lives, and we need to be a tree for Christ that shares and remembers the cross and tries with everything to be like Him, constantly imparting the five-second delay of surrender.

Christians should live strong, building the kingdom as a body of Christ. Imagine the fuel they could provide as their trees stand on this earth. After many attacks of this earthly world, their tree one day broke down and used for fuel for the whole body of Christ. Then the body's spirit will soar to the heavens, home to their Father in Heaven. So let’s help one another with our five-second delay and keep looking up! Bring on the attacks because we are the body OF CHRIST, and we will not sway; we are on a five-second hold.