We can all be blessed by something the Holy Spirit may reveal to you.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, PEACE and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 26:3,4
You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on (dependent on) You, because he trusts in You.
Trust in the Lord forever, because in Yah, the Lord, is an everlasting rock!
Here it says He will, not might, but will keep you...so lean on Him and hope confidently.
Remember Jesus' words to you..."MY PEACE I leave with you"
So let not your heart be troubled, and put his yoke of peace and serenity upon yourself.
Some of you may remember the part of an old song that goes..."I've got peace like a river , I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul"
...maybe some here might connect better with the part of the Talking Heads tune that sings, "take me to the river...dip me in the water" (raise your hand if you remember that).
What I'm saying is don't be afraid to be carried away in the current of this water...don't be afraid to let go of the worry and concern, and let God take you where He wants to take you in His river, for it is a river of peace, a river of love.
His peace, tranquility, and serenity are flowing through you, and regardless of the turmoil around you today, let the secret place of the Most High be the eye of the storm for you as you walk in the peace that passes understanding.*
Let the peace of God's word wash away your worries! Amen.
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Also...be a peacemaker yourself, in the heart of the body, in the heart of the earth.
What can you do today to bring peace and harmony to a personal relationship?
What about your living environment?... (that's definitely one I can raise my hand on)
Be sure to take some quiet time for yourself. Cast all your care upon the Lord and His Spirit, and labor to enter into His rest. Settle down and trust God with your life. Today you might need to just chill.*
*-(denotes where some was adapted from A Year In The Now by Bishop Jim Swilley)
I pray that some of these words connected with you and blessed you today.
I did write a comment about joy on yesterdays blog (probably the 8th comment) that I'd like you to read when you get the chance...something taken out of Isaiah.
Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:33 (NIV)
ReplyDelete"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Hopefully as followers of Christ we have all experienced the peace that comes from forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus. But there are other real difficult situations where it is harder to find peace. In theory peace is always available for everyone in every circumstance. In practice finding peace during chronic illness, death, divorce, phobias, financial disaster, infertility, unwanted pregnancy, loneliness, or during verbal, emotional, or physical abuse is often much more difficult than in theory. God has never promised us that we would never have pain, suffering and problems. In fact without pain, suffering and problems we would never appreciate the joy of peace. Here are some suggestions for finding peace in the midst of suffering by June Hunt from “Hope For The Heart Biblical Counseling Keys” © 2005 by Hope For The Heart.
Receive the compassion of God.
• God understands your pain.
• God is aware of your needs and weaknesses.
• God loves you even more than you may love your own children.
• God’s compassion never fails.
Leave the past in the past.
• Don’t play the “blame game.”
• Don’t rehearse the “what if’s.”
• Don’t try to figure out what went wrong.
• Don’t assume responsibility for other people’s choices.
Entrust the future to God.
• God is the God of a second chance.
• God has a timetable different from mine.
• God is working continually.
• God has all the resources He needs to accomplish His purposes.
Exchange your pain for God’s peace.
• Choose to trust in God’s goodness.
• Choose to rely on God’s faithfulness.
• Choose to believe in God’s involvement.
• Choose to live in God’s presence.
That verse brings up an interesting point...Jesus says "MAY have peace". It seems like it's your decision.
ReplyDelete...and by choosing or deciding to follow the keys you listed, when practiced in the present moments of decision, you are connected to that peace in Him.
Thoughts?...
I’ve adopted John 16:33 as my “life” text. I tend to get very frustrated when troubles come, so I need to be reminded that a) it’s normal and b) Christ has already overcome the world for me.
ReplyDeleteI think accessing God’s peace is very much a choice. The gift of His peace is always extended, but often we choose to focus on our troubles rather than God.
I don’t mean to suggest that believing in God is some kind of magic formula that makes everything better. Lots of people believed in God’s goodness and faithfulness and still suffered some horrible things. Joseph springs to mind. And yet after all the unfair treatment and the years that seemed wasted, he could say “God turned what was meant for harm to good... not only my own good but to bring life to countless others.”
“In this world you will have trouble” – there are no truer words in Scripture. The wonderful thing is that the verse doesn’t end there. “But take heart! I have overcome the world” – the world is a defeated enemy that no longer has any real power over us.
Thanks Shari for reminding us of the story of Joseph. It is easy to think of the love, joy, peace, etc., as gifts from God. But we don’t like to think of troubles as gifts too.
ReplyDeleteJoseph’s story reminds me of a sermon I heard on Focus on the Family years ago. A minister was telling his story, he had been pastoring a normal little church and reached a plateau in his life and ministry when his life was turned upside down after he and his wife had a severely autistic child. To make a long story short, just having a child that severely handicapped made their home life terribly chaotic and their church was not structured to handle the noise and disruption of an autistic child. His frustration at God rattled his relationship with God and nearly drove him out of the ministry. But just like Joseph, his trials turned into triumph as he developed church programs that focused on how to minister to autistic children, a project that revolutionized his church and turned it into the largest congregation in the community and nationally recognized as a pioneer church for this kind of ministry.
God took Joseph’s trials, the betrayal by his brothers, years of suffering as a slave, falsely accused of adultery, then cast in prison, and polished him. A rough gem stone is valuable, but after it has been cut and lightly hammered to knock off brittle, fractured material, and it has been put in a grinder that uses progressive abrasion using finer and finer grits of harder substances to polish the gem the process increases its value sometimes as much as 80%. After all that Joseph suffered, which caused him to be cut and polished spiritually, he grew to depended on God more and more. When he was ready God elevated him to the highest place next to the Pharaoh. Sometimes our trials can lead to our greatest blessings and God’s greatest victories.
Amen Sharilyn and Dan, thanks for the blogs.
ReplyDeleteIn a hurry now but try to write later.
First thing that comes to mind is: ..."ALL things work together for good."
God bless!
"ALL things work together for good." That has got to be the greatest proof that there is indeed a God who is active in our circumstances.
ReplyDeleteHow many times have I faced what seemed to be certain disaster only to find out later that what I thought spelled personal doom actually became a springboard for positive change.
Several years back I read something that has stuck with me (forgive me if I misquote). Jesus desires to make our lives like His: a series of uninterrupted victories – perhaps not seen as such here, but recognised as such in the great hereafter.
So the next time you feel like you are going under for the third and final time, remind yourself “I’m in the middle of a victory here!”
Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. (1 John 5:4, 5)
Amen Sharilyn and Dan!
ReplyDelete..."what I thought spelled personal doom actually became a springboard for positive change."
-was it Einstein? who said, "necessity is the mother of invention.
I also heard a friend say yesterday that it is also the mother of REVELATION.
I feel in some areas right now I, too, am on that springboard, bouncing...so let us jump, not being afraid to dive into the waters of positive change!
Dan, thanks for that story...the first thought that popped into my mind is the phrase...
"A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH"
I'll plan sometime today or tonight to write another main posting, really would like to... for now, be at peace...don't worry...no anxiety...make your requests known without straining...rest, and trust.
Karl, your words reminded me of the song “Dive” by Steven Curtis Chapman... The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive, so sink or swing, I’m diving in. In fact, I went and pulled the “Speechless” CD off the shelf and am listening to it now. It was the soundtrack of my early days of knowing God (as opposed to just knowing about God).
ReplyDeleteWalking with God (or in my case sometimes running way ahead or digging in my heels and having to be dragged along) is the scariest thing I’ve ever done. But like Peter, I have nowhere else to go (John 6:68). It is comforting to know that when I come to the end of myself, there is a Father waiting to gather me up in his arms.
That's neat Sharilyn...I remember that song. Steven Curtis Chapman is still "diving in" even with the tragedy with his child last year. Truly a blessed man and fine example.
ReplyDelete