Peace in the midst of chaos

John 14:27New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

This time of year can be very stressful. We worry about so many things, especially things that we have no control over. But we don’t have to. God promises us His peace. I sometimes worry about things that are happening in my life, my kids, my job, my career, and finances. I would really worry about the kids and finances around the holidays. I bought into the hype of the commercialism. Now we know the real reason for the season and even though I still sometimes struggle with these things, I’m not as bad as I used to be. Now when I feel the worry coming on I don’t let it overcome instead I turn to the Word of God and I speak it over my life. The peace I feel after talking to God is unmistakable and indescribable. I just feel all the weight lifted off. That peace only comes from God. Nothing and no one else in this world can give you that kind of peace.

 I encourage you today to not let this season stress or worry you. Instead enjoy your family and Jesus. Time with them is the most precious gift. My birthday is Christmas Eve, and I can’t imagine a better place to be than at church for our Christmas Eve candlelight service. That’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten.  

Staying in peace

Peace. What does it mean? The definition of peace is: freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety an obsession, etc. tranquility, serenity. What your ideal situation be like if you were in total peace? What does that mean for you? For me it means a lot! Being in peace means even though my world may be crashing around me, I know whose I am. I know it's just temporary. Our mind and emotions play such an important role when it comes to having true peace. You can't have peace in your heart if you don't have it in your mind. It's easy to say I can do that, and of course it's easy when nothing is going wrong. But what about when it's not? What about when your world is crashing in, and you don't feel like you can go on? This is when our faith comes in. The key is to remember that God is here. He's always with us, even when it feels like He's not. He can keep us in perfect peace in every storm in our life if we let Him. Part of our problem is that we want total control. Relinquishing control means total surrender. Then the peace comes, because no matter what happens, you know that God has already gone before you. 

When Peter walked on the water, he asked Jesus if he could. Jesus said yes, and Peter was doing great at first. But he took his eyes off Jesus when the water got rough, and he got scared and took his eyes off Jesus. He started sinking, he wasn't sure if he could fully put his trust in Him. Peter cried out, He put his hand out and caught him. You see, the wonderful thing about God is even when we don't trust Him completely, He's still there.

God is Jehovah-Shalom - our peace.

John 14:27 (MSG) ~ I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.

God's Promises

Its taboo in today’s “gotta have it now” society to wait for anything. We can do almost anything instantaneously and when someone tell us to wait, it’s like the worst scenario ever! When God puts a promise in you, most of the time it doesn’t happen in an instant. In fact, most of us find ourselves in the uncomfortable “wait” zone. When He first puts the promise in you, you’re so excited! You can’t wait for this promise to happen!! I mean God’s plans are so much bigger than ours, so when you see that vision you’re amazed and awed and pumped – for the first week or so.

But when it starts to take longer than we expected, we start doubting…. Did He really put this promise in me?... Maybe I was mistaken…. I don’t know how this will ever come to pass. You ask for confirmation over and over to be sure that it’s real. Ever been there? I have, and I can tell you that waiting is sometimes SO difficult. I would get discouraged and want to give up. But I knew in my heart that I couldn’t. How do I get through it you ask? I’ve had to learn a few things.

1.  God doesn’t go back on His promises! The bible is full of verses showing us that.

2.  He wouldn’t have put the promise in you if he wasn’t going to give you everything you need to bring it to fruition.

3. He WILL test your faith! Testing is part of the process.

4. Trust God. I had to let things go and completely trust Him. That’s not easy if you like being in control. Keep your peace knowing He’s in control, and He will never leave you.

I realized through the process that I can’t out dream God. It took me quite a while to figure this out. God loves us and wants to bless us abundantly. But He can’t do it if we’re not ready.

I have a friend who was waiting on a promise from God. It seemed to take forever! I was getting frustrated and discouraged for him! But he waited patiently knowing that God was going to bring it to pass and while he waited he continued to gain knowledge and grow. Now that the promise is manifesting, him and his wife are walking into that promise and to him it was worth waiting for.

I want to encourage you today to enjoy the process, be at peace, trust Him and watch what He does in your life.

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. ~ Habakkuk 2:3 (ESV)