Friday, January 4, 2019

A Short Study in Peace


Last night, I had a vague feeling trying to settle over my soul. The cloud of depression was trying to make a comeback after a week of doing really well mood-wise. This time, I was determined to fight it. I told God, “I don’t trust myself. But I do trust You. Please lead me & guide me in this fight.” And He has and I believe He will continue to do so!

Yesterday the verse He brought to mind was “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3, emphasis mine).

So this morning, still feeling a bit apprehensive, I decided to spend my quiet time looking at some verses about peace. {All italics are my own emphasis.}

Jesus’ comments about that in His valedictory address (John 13-17) immediately came to mind:

John 14:27 – “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 be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Yes Lord, Yes! Please let Your peace rule in my heart!

John 16:33 – “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”!!! We don’t have peace in ourselves or in our circumstances—we have peace in Christ. Amen!!! Jesus never promised an easy/comfortable life—He actually promised trouble. But He also promised peace.

Next I thought of a verse about peace passing understanding. I had to use a concordance to find it, as it wasn’t in Ephesians like I initially thought.

Philippians 4:6-7 – Don’t be anxious!! Make your requests known to God, by praying with thanksgiving. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” And then of course that is followed by vs. 8, all about meditating on the things that are true and noble!!! Verse 9 is the command to the Philippians to follow Paul’s example, and then the God of peace will be with them!

I then pulled out a little notebook taking note of some various key words and tracing them through Scripture. Under the Psalms section, I found a couple relevant ones:

Psalm 4:8 – “I will both lie down in peace and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” As someone who has struggled off and on with insomnia in the past year, sometimes severely, this verse is especially meaningful!

Psalm 55:18 – “He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many against me.” As I have before, I think You, O Lord, that my enemies are not and have not been the people around me. They care about me and want my best! But I believe that there are enemies in the spiritual realm who would love nothing more than to get me down and discouraged again. BUT GOD!!! You are Haggo'el, myRedeemer, and I praise You!

Coming full circle, I went back to the verse that had started me on this little journey:
Isaiah 26:3 – Please, Lord, strengthen again my trust in You in the coming days and weeks! As my pastor’s wife said at breakfast yesterday, please help me to send off my team with grace and joy. And help me to give You all the glory for that—for I know that in myself I cannot do that.

Peace is NOT the absence of trouble, but rather the fruit of trusting God in the midst of it.

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