Tag Archives: peace

Are you tired and weary?

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We live in a busy world. In fact, by the way we fill up our lives with so much activity, you would think our goal is a tombstone that reads, “Sure kept busy!” Of course, that is not our goal in life, but it is often our pursuit. All this activity, albeit sometimes necessary in some seasons of life, is tiring, isn’t it? It robs us of energy for contemplation, meditation, prayer – for drawing close to God…and each other.

 

Being a rather ‘Type A’ personality with a high metabolism, much of my life has been driven by goals and activities. “Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” I was taught. While there is some truth to that, the constant weariness of Leukemia has taught me that only idle hands can be offered to God when seeking His presence. “Stop striving. Be still and know that I am God,” He calls to us (Psalm 46:10). “Come to me all you who are weary, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  The world tells us “no pain, no gain – push to the limit.” But Isaiah counsels us, “The Lord gives strength to the weary. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:29-31)

 

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out? Give it a rest. Stop striving. Stop worrying. Give it up to God – again and again. Practice resting in His presence. Find His grace and rediscover your light.

 

The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.  Numbers 6:25-26

 

 

Peace right now

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No Jesus – No peace.

Know Jesus – Know peace.

 

“My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart not be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.”  (John 14:27)

 

Jesus was talking with his followers shortly before the end of His physical ministry on earth. He was encouraging them by promising them God would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to remind and teach them all they needed to enter into God’s presence and His peace. (Words for us today!)

 

How valuable to you is peace? I can assure you that the more turmoil there is in your life, the more you will long for some peace. If your body is torn apart by disease – or by the effects of the cure – you will long for peace. If your mind is constantly in a whirlwind, always jumping from one worry to another, trying to find an escape from sorrow and pain, you will seek peace with all your might. While you are recovering from grief you will welcome peace.

 

But what kind of peace will fill our needs? Will quietness or solitude? If you experience Tinnitus, a constant ringing in your ears that never stops,  quietness may bring more stress than peace! If you are lonely, solitude may only serve to insult your sensibilities. What about the absence of stress and hurt? That would be nice, but do you know of such a protective place where heartache never visits? How about a bigger pile of money, a life of comfort? There are too many stories of extremely wealthy people who never found peace.

 

Jesus says that He gives us true peace, not the kind of peace the world offers. What is this true peace that we are offered? He says it is the kind of peace that can protect our hearts from being troubled by the storm raging around and within us. It is the peace that overcomes fear. It is a peace that endures and persists despite our circumstances.

 

Paul wrote that he had learned the secret of being content; that whether he had plenty or none, he “could do all things through Christ who strengthened him.” He endured plenty of pain and sorrow, including some unknown ‘thorn in the flesh’ that just wouldn’t leave him. But a contented peace allowed him to rise above his circumstances. He found the peace that surpasses all human understanding, the peace that Jesus gives. Surely, this peace is ‘the favor of the Lord, more than any other ‘riches’ you may acquire!

 

Doesn’t that sound like the peace you want? Isn’t that the kind of peace that would make your light shine brighter within and around you? I wonder what transformation awaits us when we decide to relentlessly pursue the peace of God rather than the peace that the world offers! Why not spend time with God and talk with the Prince of Peace about experiencing His peace in your life?!

 

 

Expecting God’s presence

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If I go up to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there. Psalm 139:8

 

Have you ever been in a situation and later realized that God was present?

 

Jacob came to the same conclusion that he had been in God’s presence. After stealing his brother’s blessing Jacob had a dream of a stairway reaching from earth to heaven and angels ascending and the promise of God that all of earth would be blessed by his descendants. “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”” Genesis 28:16

 

We shouldn’t be surprised. David concluded: “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” (Psalm 139:8). Paul concluded that there is nothing nor any place that can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8).

 

What if instead of finding ourselves thankfully surprised by God’s presence in our lives, we decided to live by inviting and expecting Him to show up – just as He promised? Not in the sense of Him stepping in to prevent us from any discomfort that might come our way, but in expecting that the God who sent his Son and offers us His Spirit, will indeed be with us wherever we go. Before Jacob’s dream would be realized, he would he would face much trouble. But in the end, God’s promise was fulfilled. And it will be with us too. Jesus said to His followers, “I am with you always. I will send you a counselor.” Regardless of our circumstance, we can claim that same promise.

 

Instead of leaving God at the end of your morning devotional, go with Him throughout the day. I wonder how many reasons you can find to thank Him throughout the day. Expect His presence to guide you and usher you into his peace, whatever circumstances you face.

Wandering leads to anxiety

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I was probably 3 or 4 years old at the time. We lived in a suburb of Chicago and my mother had taken me to the Marshall Fields department store. I loved that store. At Christmas time they would have the most elaborate motorized displays in the store windows. And inside there were so very many things to catch my eye. And therein was my downfall. I’m sure it was something shiny that caught my eye and led me to wander away from my mom. (How quickly that happens.) And when you are very small, you only have to wander a short distance to find your self hidden from view and quite alone. I remember looking up and not seeing my mother. Quite upset, I wondered why she had abandoned me and left me all alone in this huge store! Of course, in reality, it was I who strayed away from her, not the other way around. But when we are feeling upset and alone our perspective is easily twisted to see things differently. I’m sure I became quite anxious and started to cry, which brought everyone’s attention to me and reunited my mother and me.

 

Isn’t that how it is in our relationship with God? In times of despair, we ask, “God where are you? Why have you abandoned me in my time of need?” But of course, it is not God who abandons us, but our own desires which drag us away from Him. Feeling alone and separated from God leads to anxiety. In fact, whenever we feel anxious and find ourselves worrying, it is a good sign to show us how we have wandered from God in our thinking and behaving and into the lonely anxiety of our own ways.

The way to find calm and peace that restores us is through putting ourselves back into His presence. The good news is that we don’t have to call a store detective or put ourselves in the lost and found department to wait for someone to discover us again. We simply need to turn around and find Our loving God right there ready to comfort and guide us.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28

Why This Leukemia Is A Win-Win Situation

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I am reading a book about one man’s experience with Leukemia. His words (distraught, fearful, nerve-wracking, dreadful, tragic, horrible) seem so strange to us in our journey. I fully understand how each person’s journey is unique to them, and also how extremely blessed I am in my situation. I have to remind myself that my body is battling a deadly disease because apart from being tired most the time I have no real suffering.

Even though we don’t yet have any solid prognostic information, we are not naive to the “statistics.” But we have no fear because our great God is not ruled by statistics. And besides, circumstances don’t have any hold on faith. Honestly, we have had only two things bring on tears:
1. The news that our move to pursue full time mission work in Bolivia is off the table for the foreseeable future until I am fully well.
2. When the body is so physically exhausted the emotional storm walls are easily and unexplainably breached, resulting in “tears without sadness.”

So why do I consider Leukemia to be a win-win situation? Let me paraphrase some basic ‘livable’ truths we hold to be ‘self-evident’:
1. Live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8 (A life verse)
2. To live is Christ, to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21
3. This present ‘suffering’ is not worth comparing to what the future holds. Romans 8:18
4. I believe God will save me from this fire. But even if He doesn’t, He will always be my One True God. Daniel 3:16-18
5. This light and momentary struggle is producing good things. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
6. God’s power is strongest in my weakness. 2 Corinthians 13:9-10
7. When something dies (part of my nature or myself) it bears fruit. John 12:24-26
8. What I am striving for, Jesus has already accomplished. Philippians 3:12
9. All things work for good for those who love God. Romans 8:28
10. Through Jesus we are more than conquerors. Romans 8:37-39.

I get it that some folks will think this sounds “churchy” or unrealistic. I also am aware of how imperfectly I live out these truths on a day to day basis. When something is true it isn’t changed by what we believe. But we  are changed by the truth we believe.

Sometimes Jesus calms the storm. Sometimes He calms the sailor in the midst of the storm. Either way, He is the only one with power to bring about true peace.