I was asked about a month ago to be part of a devotional project for a ministry we are heavily involved with that builds schools and homes for orphans in the 10/40 window and trains the local people how to minister and make a change in their surrounding areas. Well, really they do so much I can't even begin to tell it all. You can look them up at www.powersplanet.org to check it out. They are amazing people with an awesome vision to reach countries like Pakistan and Burma for Jesus!
So I said yes and was told I would receive my topic soon. My interest was peaked because I wondered what topic I would receive and how God was going to use it to teach me and reach others. (He works that way!!) I had been planning to study up on peace for my upcoming ladies meeting and wouldn't you know it, a few days later I received my topic - Peace. It made me very excited because it just confirmed what God was wanting me to know and teach others. When you get confirmation for things you become confident in Him, knowing that He's using you and you are hearing! There are so many christians that constantly doubt if they hear from God.
*Tip - If you are one of those, just know that God never goes against His word. If you see it in there then go ahead and do it. You can never be too obedient and He will never fault you for trying! I would rather mess up trying to hear Him than hear and ignore Him.
Anyway, today I want to share about His peace. Philippians refers to as the "...peace that surpasses all understanding". What we need to understand about God is that He is unlike any other being ever created, ever lived, ever breathed, EVER. There is no one like Him, and so there is no peace like His peace, no love like His Love, no joy like His Joy and hope like His Hope! This scripture clearly shows us that it exists and how to get it!
As a wife, a mom, a pastor and just an overall human being, it seems that there can never be enough peace in my life! I'm talking about just a break from the everyday chaos we seem to keep around us. Is anyone with me? You know what I'm talking about?? Peace is something people in our generation seem to be seeking out, but God's Peace is the calm INSIDE the storm, where as our peace needs to get through the storm with our lives and then avoid any other storms as long as we can! The scripture says His Peace passes all human understanding. Have you ever felt strangely calm in the middle of some huge problem, and everyone else around you is scrambling around screaming "What are we going to do?!", with their hands on their forehead and eyes wide open, pushing back their hair until they're pulling it out of their heads? It's chaotic, but the calm INSIDE the storm is God's peace. That was the exact picture in Mark chapter 4 when Jesus and the disciples were in the boat and the storm came. Jesus was asleep because He was at complete Peace with God's will and purpose for His life and no matter what storm comes to stop Him, God will take care of it! But Jesus rebuked the storm Himself, so how did God take care of it? Well, who is Jesus? He is God.
In verse 39 it says He rebuked the sea, the wind ceased and there was an immediate calm. The amplified version says there was a "perfect peacefulness". Jesus had to be at Peace first before His situation could be at Peace. Peace doesn't begin on the outside, it begins on the inside. How on earth do you get that Peace? If we go back to Philippians 4:6, in the very beginning it says to "be anxious for nothing". How many of us can say we are anxious for nothing? Probably we can say we're anxious for everything except the kitchen sink! Anxiety and worry are the main thieves of Peace. The only reason we worry is because we can't fix the problem, so if we can't fix it then instead of focusing our energy on worrying, "in every circumstance, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,". Now this is a big part of Peace so pay attention! In EVERY situation we have to pray! Praying just means talking to God. Talk to God in your circumstance. Not about your circumstance, IN your circumstance!
Petition Him. Huh? Think about it this way; when you have a petitioner knock on your door and ask you to sign your name and commit to something it's usually because that petitioner wants something to change! And he needs support to get it done. God is your support to bring change to your circumstance! Petition His goodness and grace! Petition His love! You want Him to sign His name to your need and commit to changing it, and He will! It may not be the change we were thinking of, but He always knows best.
Give thanks! How many of you have kids that come to you and ask you for new toys or books, or electronics (for you people with teenagers) without giving any appreciation for what's already been given to them? No one wants to talk to an ungrateful person and that includes God! I find sometimes that being thankful reminds me I don't really need anything anyway. Its kind of that epiphany where you think "I just answered my own question".
Let your requests be made know to God AFTER you have acknowledged him by speaking to Him, petitioned Him for change, (which by the way could have to do with you), and thanked Him for what He's done for you already! THEN He says the Peace that passes all understanding (you can't possibly know how you are so calm in that awful storm!), will guard your heart and mind. It sounds to me like His Peace is the answer to your prayer. It doesn't say after we pray, petition and give thanks that He will answer the prayer. It says His Peace will come upon us and guard (safely protect) our hearts and minds. Peace is the answer! In His Peace, the kind that no human can understand, we safely trust God to do what He needs to do and we rest there! In His perfect Peace we don't care about OUR answer. Now He always answers our selfless prayers, but the point I'm trying to make here is that when we enter into His Peaee, we won't care. We will be happy knowing that it's in His hands and He protect our heart and mind. How does He do that? If you have kids you may not realize this but you protect their hearts and minds by keeping your word and laughing with them when they laugh, or telling them that their hideous art project is going to be on display in the Louvre one day. They are confident in your love for them because you protect them from disappointment. Not disappointment of the world, but disappointment from you, being there for them when you say you will. God is that way with us. He is always there for us!
There is so much more I feel I could add to this, but it's pretty long already. Please leave comments or ask questions! They are an extension of this post and can bring other posts to life! Of course, the word does that all by itself. :)
I will add this one last thing - we cannot expect the blessing of Peace on our lives if we don't follow the preceding instructions. While praying, petitioning and giving thanks is not the "purchase price" for blessing, we can't ignore our part and expect our lives to change. That would be like spiritual shoplifting; getting something for nothing. I'm not discounting grace, but at some point my daughter can't expect to eat dessert every night without having dinner first. That's the rule in our house and the first few times she didn't eat it all there was grace, but when she began to take advantage of that grace, saying things like "I'm full" after 3 bites or "I don't like this, what's for dessert?", the parent recognizes and the blessing is not available until the original instruction is followed. She's had the taste of the dessert through grace, but if she wants the whole gallon of ice cream she's going to have to eat all her dinner.
To sum it all up, (this is where toes get stepped on) if we DO NOT want God's Peace in our lives, then we can continue worrying, having a prayerless life and an unthankful heart and we will succeed. Food for thought!
