Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Every day, we are each faced with situations that can disrupt any semblance of peace in our lives. We may get cut off in traffic… we may stress out over a test or an upcoming competition…illness may be plaguing us or someone we know and love…we can have money troubles or relationship challenges… there can be problems with our job… our computer can crash or get a virus… or some sort of emergency may arise that sends us scrambling to deal with a myriad of questions/issues we were not anticipating. Life is hard, and the devil delights in making it even harder for us each and every day!
I would be willing to bet that you would have a hard time finding someone who says, “I want chaos in my life… I thrive on illness, accidents, calamity and discord.” We all want tranquility… contentment… serenity… for things in our life to go well… and for the devil to leave us alone! But sometimes, it seems like this is totally out of the realm of possibilities. Why can’t we simply have peace and quiet in our lives?
The truth of the matter is that we can have peace and quiet… but we often fail to recognize what real peace looks like - and how to get it! See, you have to study this passage again. It doesn’t say, “May the Lord of peace himself give you everything you asked for and make your life hunky-dory every single day.” It says, “May the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.” There is a difference… do you see it?
Let’s look a little closer. Jesus is “the Lord of peace himself,” which means that He operates in perfect peace at all times. He doesn’t worry, stew, fret, become excited or agitated, wring His hands, or throw a hissy fit! He trusts God to walk with Him and be with Him at all times…to make the bad times tolerable and manageable… and the good times great… to give Him peace in all circumstances. When we learn to operate in God’s peace… the peace of mind that He is in control and available in every minute to help us with whatever we are experiencing…we can have the kind of “peace and quiet” that we envision. When God settles things for me, I have a calm and serenity that I cannot even explain. In fact, I have asked before, “Why am I so calm about this?” The only explanation is that I gave the situation to God and allowed Him to work… I gave Him room to handle things, and He gave me peace and quiet in return.
Think about the events of even this day… how you may have hurried and worried, fretted and stressed. Consider all that has challenged you, and ask yourself whether you tried to handle these things on your own… or whether you allowed God to cover you with His peace. Your answer matters. If you are content to try to find your own peace, the devil will surely be busy giving you anything but that! If you want to operate in calm and serenity, confidence and security… you need a hefty dose of Jesus! Ask Him to bring you peace. Release your burdens and even the most insignificant of issues to Him.
Let Jesus show you how to walk in faith that He’s got this… and feel the weight lift from your shoulders. Truly discover what it means to allow the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. And may the Lord truly be with you all.
©2013 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment