Last night in small group we talked about Jehovah-shalom which means The LORD is peace. Here is the Kay Arthur quote we took our study from...."When the hour is dark and the situation desperate, we finally long for God's peace. Then we crave it. Our sanity depends on it. Fear grips us. We grope through the darkness, longing for peace's reassurance that everything will be all right."
We looked at several verses that deal with peace...one was John 14:27. From this verse we studied the two types of peace. God's and the Worlds.
Plain and simple....the worlds peace is temporary and false. It gives us an illusion of peace which can result in fear...fear we create ourselves. Think about it...the peace the world offers is not secure....it is a circumstantial one that is based on where we are in life and what we are going through. Then there is the perfect peace that our perfect God offers us. The peace that is true and eternal and will not ever fail us.
Wow. Take a second and read that again....
God's peace will NEVER fail us....so then why do we constantly find ourselves searching for the peace of the world? We have been given a true peace....now all we have to do is receive it...sounds pretty simple doesn't it?
That really got me thinking.
This perfect peace that is offered to me is a matter of me receiving it. It requires my mind to be controlled. Now for me this is hard. I must confess that I love to analyze things and pick them apart. As a matter of fact, my co-worker and friend actually told me the other day that she feels like The Lord is trying to teach me this exact lesson right now....capturing my thoughts and holding them captive.
Knowing the Lord Jehovah-shalom also requires us as Christians to have a confident expectation in our precious Savior and not a constant anxiety. Isn't that comforting to know....that we can truly relax when we trust and know who's in control of our lives? Shouldn't we find an unbelievable peace and comfort in the fact that today and tomorrow are not blank pages....that our sweet Jesus has already written them out...that He already knows...that nothing is a suprise for Him?
So I challenge you today to search your heart, pray, and ask our precious Savior where you need His peace today, stop wrestling with Him, be still and know He is God, and accept the perfect peace He is extending to you today.
Philippians 4:8-9 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you."
1 comment:
Yes! A blog shout-out! What a perfect summary...it's exactly what I need as I head into the wilderness of Missouri;) Thanks, Friend.
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