Peace is possible

2/3/16

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful. – Colossians 3:15

Several years ago, I was in a seemingly difficult time in my life.  I was struggling with making a decision about a choice I had to make.  The choice I would make would alter the course of my future.  It was just one choice, but I knew it would set the course I would go in.  I wanted to make the right choice.  I was discussing my situation with a wise and trusted friend.  She told me that “God was my umpire” and to trust when He says something should be safe or out.  Like in baseball.  A play is made, and the umpire/referee calls what is safe or out.  What is allowed to continue in the game or put back on the bench.  

That simple conversation had impact on my life.  I often think back on that and use that as a judge in my life.  It sounds simple, but it is actually quite difficult.  When we get caught up in our daily lives, trials, or just our own heads it is sometimes so hard to feel the peace of God.  However, it is always there.  Always.  Never failing, strong and true.  The trouble is that we sometimes don’t like what the “peace” is guiding us to do, or it simply doesn’t make sense to us.  Which is exactly what Proverbs 3:5-7 tells us:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.^[a]

We are told right there that we cannot lean on our own understanding.  We may think that we understand a situation to be as certain as we see it.  However, we can’t see everything.  We certainly can’t see tomorrow or even 5 minutes from now.  We know that God has plan is for us to prosper.  We know that ALL things are possible through Him.  There is nothing He can’t do.  We so often want to limit him.  Just last week, I made a mistake with the water bill which resulted in my water being shut off.  I immediately called the water department, paid my Bill in full and did what I needed to do to get service restored.  In my mind, in my understanding, there was no way that they would come turn my water back on that day.  The devil quickly came in and started telling me all kinds of crazy lies about myself and the situation.  “This is your punishment for not being more diligent in looking at the actual amount due” I just guess and pay the same amount each month on the water bill.  It usually works, this time it didn’t. This wasn’t punishment.  This wasn’t God turning my water off to smite me for being unworthy of water.  My God isn’t like that.  He loves me and provides for me.  This was just simple cause and effect.  The enemy goes on to tell me how dysfunctional Dekalb county is and it will probably take days for them to even process the work order.  Then in a moment of clarity I remembered how great my God is and that His name is above all names, even Dekalb county.  So I began to speak it.  I began to say… In the Name of Jesus, the name above all Names, my water will be restored today.  Nothing, not even Dekalb county is more powerful than my God.  I spoke to the water meter, I spoke to the road that leads to my house, I spoke to the faucets.  I praised God that my water would be restored and exercised my Faith by standing on that… and in two hours, my water was back on.  I do mean exercise.  It wasn’t easy, with each car that passed I’d just know it was the water man, but it would just be someone driving by.  It was like each one a failed opportunity, and each time the enemy would say, “you are so stupid for thinking this could actually happen today”.  Shut up, devil.  And the next time, im up against a test.  I’ll have even more assurance to call him the liar that he is.  

Anyways… back to what I was saying, about peace.  

Philippians 4: 6-7 speaks again about the peace that surpasses all understanding

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

He promises that if we just trust Him, then he will guard our hearts and minds.  What?  If we just trust Him and let his peace be our guide, then He will guard our hearts and minds.  But first, we have to surrender the “thing” to him in prayer and petition. Then trust Him with it, beyond our own understanding.  We have to really give it to Him, and leave it in His hands.  Resit the temptation to pick it back up not matter what it looks like. 

During that difficult time mentioned before, God told me to close my eyes to the world around me and only listen to Him.  So I did, I shut off the world and focused on Him.  Before long I was out of the situation and looked back and had to giggle at how naive I was and how I was tripping over this tiny little pebble.  That situation wasn't difficult, I was making it difficult by trying to look at it through my own eyes and deal with it with my own strength.  I thought I wanted the situation to work out a certain way.  Now I praise GOD that it didn’t. 

Often the hardest parts of this is in the surrender. First, in even realizing that we need to surrender to needing help, to wanting God to have His way.  After all, we know His way is not always our way.  When you are standing on one side of the situation it looks much different than it will when we get to the other side, or even halfway through it. Through that journey we may find a huge obstacle we didn't even know was there. "Oh God, if you will just make it possible for me to have this job, or make this amount of money, or let me marry this person, or drive that car".  “Let me have what I want and I will be happy”.  Our sovereign Lord knows so much more than we do.  He knows that if we get that job, then we won’t get the opportunity to do something else that would bring joy unspeakable to our souls.  He knows what we need and when we need it.  Its never about us and our time.  Its about Him.  And NEVER has God ever blessed me with something I didn’t love, something that didn’t lite me up from my toes to my head.  Sometimes the most joy is in knowing that you are so happy about something you never thought you’d enjoy.  When you realize you have grown or matured into enjoying something you thought was only for those other type of people.  Like when you finally came to a point in life when you enjoyed coffee.  You felt grown, or maybe that was just me, lol.  But hopefully you get what I'm saying.  Grow up and trust the Lord! 

Another part of that surrender is the sacrifice.  So now we have admitted that we need His help and asked him for it.  He will most likely need to shift some things in our life to make room for what He's about to add.  There is a chance He will have to cut some things off to prepare us for expansion.  We have to be willing to sacrifice our ideals of what we think it should look like and be okay with him remodeling, renovating, rebuilding. We might be praying for Him to give us a house.  But to get that house, you have to pay for it.  To pay for it, you might have to take a job you don't like.  A job that doesn't look like what you want to look like.  You might have to be the mail room clerk for several years before you become the office assistant, and after some more years and following His plan, you might advance to department manager.  Its all a process, and its never ours.  The more we fight to make it ours, the more painful it is.  If we follow His peace, and just say...okay.  Then suddenly we are able to experience peace in situations we didn't think could be peaceful, and then comes the JOY! Unspeakable Joy!