A Three-Minute Pause

Recovering the Center with Colossians 1:19-21

On this quiet Tuesday, I’m sharing a short centering exercise from Colossians that you can pray through in just three minutes.

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A three-minute centering exercise is embedded in Colossians 1:19–21.

In these verses, two sets of words stand out:

• “Reconcile” + “Making peace” (v. 20)

• “Alienated” + “Enemies” (v. 21)

Take a moment to read the passage a few times, pausing and breathing between each reading.

Do you notice the second pair of words—alienated and enemies? They’re blunt. They describe what we’ve managed to do to our relationship with the Living God. We’re the ones who create distance. We’re the ones who turn God into an “enemy” in our minds. And honestly, you don’t need a theology degree to see it—just look around. We humans are remarkably skilled at building walls, cutting ties, and turning people into “others.” Paul was simply naming what he already knew to be true of the human heart.

Now pull the lens in a little closer. Think about the broken relational patterns right around you. Families, marriages, friendships, communities—we’ve all seen the fallout of this destructive habit of alienation. And Paul doesn’t let us off the hook. He says the deepest fracture isn’t just with one another—it’s with God Himself. On some level, we’ve grown used to being alienated from Him.

But that’s not the whole story. Verse 20 introduces a different set of words: reconcile and making peace. This is God’s response. It’s His specialty. He is the one who restores harmony where alienation has taken root. He is the ultimate Peace-Maker.

And the beauty of this peace is that it doesn’t stop with us and God—it spreads outward. God begins undoing the enemy-making patterns in our families, workplaces, and culture. It’s not something we can manufacture; it’s His gift, His work.

This is the heart of the gospel. In Jesus, God carried out His most powerful act of peace-making, breaking through the dark forces of alienation that plague our lives, our relationships, and our world.

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Take a few quiet moments with these verses.
Breathe in the word reconciliation.
Breathe out the word alienation.
Let God’s peace-making superpower draw you into harmony today.