Our pastor said something at church that stuck out to me on Sunday.
Yesterday, at my MOPs meeting, the speaker shared something that echoed the same idea.
Then, this morning, my husband told me what he was learning as he prepares to speak at church this coming weekend.
Usually, when God repeats something, it's important.
Given that He's used 3 different people to get across the same message, I'm pretty sure what He's trying to teach me is VERY important.
So, what is God whispering in my ear?
I definitely don't think it's a secret for me to keep, but rather to share with YOU.
I do believe this word is meant to encourage many, many people.
For I am not alone in my circumstances, at least I don't feel as though I am...
Best place to start is at the beginning. Back to Sunday morning we shall go.
I can't even remember which pastor said this because they did an interview style thing where 3 of them shared at different times. Whoever said it doesn't really matter because GOD was the one talking and simply using one of them as His mouthpiece. Here's what I heard:
Peace comes when we are in the middle of a trial.
We experience peace in the midst of chaos, NOT the absence of it.
How true is this?!!
Yet, we tend to want to avoid trials and difficulty and suffering and pain and grief and anything remotely HARD. We want fast and easy. Smooth sailing. Flat, straight roads that are clearly marked. Convenient. Yes, those things sound good. We'll take second helpings of everything. But pass on the sorrow, waiting, and discomfort.
And in so doing, we unknowingly also pass on PEACE.
That may seem confusing.
How does aiming for an "easy" life cause us to miss out on peace?
Doesn't peace mean things are calm, relaxing, stress-free?
Wouldn't trials and suffering and pain and hardship indicate the absence of peace?
Quite the opposite!
For only in those DIFFICULT times can we experience TRUE peace.
God's peace.
Paul wrote to the believers in Philippi, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. THEN you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
As I read Paul's words, I can't help but feel as though he wrote them to ME, today. He's not telling me I don't have anything to worry about, that my life isn't stressful, that I won't experience hardship, or hit some roadbumps. Rather, he is reminding me that WHEN those difficulties come, when I am in the midst of pain and grief and sorrow, my RESPONSE should NOT be to worry or fret or streses or doubt. Instead, I am to PRAY. In going to God with my burdens, I can lay them at His feet. I can free my mind from all the "what if's." I can release to God all the things I don't understand, or like. I can surrender frustrations and irritations. I can trade in my confusion and concern for something FAR better. For as I pray and spend time in God's presence, I can't help but be overcome with His PEACE. It's like a blanket, covering me and sheltering me, warming me, comforting me, protecting and shielding me. It's a fortress, a strong tower.
It's not in the absence of hardship that I find peace, but rather in the MIDST of it.
AS I run to my ROCK.
Oh yes, David spoke of this in one of my life verses, a passage I cling to whenever I don't understand what's going on and can't see what God is doing or how His plan is for my good. Instead of worrying, I REST in my God, my Savior. And I am filled with PEACE.
Psalm 62:5-8
Let all that I am wait quietyl before God,
for my hope is in Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will NOT be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in Him at all times.
Pour our your heart to Him,
for God is our refuge.
The speaker at our MOPs meeting confirmed this on Monday morning as I sat around a table with other women. He described how we all come to a WALL in our faith. As soldiers in the middle of a raging war, we experience difficulties and sufferings of every kind. We face loss, sorrow, pain, grief. We encounter HARDSHIP. No way around it. Very easily, we can get disorientated. BUT it is at this crisis of faith that we must TRUST God and surrender to Him, believing He will grant us the victory. Goes back to what Paul spoke of in Philippians - praying leads to peace, in the MIDST of the battle.
And in a battle we certainly are. When asked to turned and share a word to describe our current season of life, NONE of the mamas in my circle mentioned PEACE. Rather, we cried as much harder words passed our lips.
Struggle. Recovery. Balance. Renewal. Wait. Overwhelmed. Refresh.
All of those words indicate a PRESENT trial or the ending of one.
YET, through our tears, we went on to share how the women sitting next to us and across from us had been blessings in our lives and helped us through the hard times. We had been a source of PEACE for each other. GIFTS from God, our ultimate peace.
Just in case I hadn't gotten the message yet, God spoke to me once again this morning. This time through my husband. He is speaking in church and preparing for his message on JOY. Although he's not talking about peace, I would have to say the two go hand in hand. In deed, I tend to think peace gives way to joy.
As I nursed the baby, my husband was excited about all the verses he had read and quotes he had about joy. His conclusion was that joy comes through suffering. Hmmmmm, kind of like peace comes in the MIDST of trials, hardship, and difficulty. NOT the absence of those things.
We both thought of the opening lines of the book of James, "Dear brothers and sisters, WHEN troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for GREAT JOY. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
WHEN we face hardship. Not IF we face hardship.
As a follower of Jesus we are GUARNATEED suffering, difficutly, pain, grief, confusion, loss, frustration, sorrow, trials, and more.
Not exactly a world of rainbows and roses.
No unicorns.
Or pots of gold.
BUT plenty of opportunities to be refined, perfected, made complete.
And what we do with those opportunities is up to us.
We can fret and worry, grumble and complain, argue, resist, shut down, whine, turn and run the opposite direction. But in so doing, we flee FROM God. Shouldn't we be sprinting TOWARDS Him?!
We keep our eyes fixed our Jesus.
We run the race He has set before us, no matter how crooked, narrow, steep, or challenging it may be.
We go THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death. NOT around it.
BUT, let us remember, there is no need to fear. God is WITH us. And HE is our peace.
In the dark, He is our light.
He shows us the way. He IS the way.
If we always have smooth sailing, we can't really know what true peace is. THAT comes only from going through the storms, waves crashing down around you, lightning streaking across the black sky, the pouring rain threatening to flood your boat. THAT is when you cry out to Jesus and He answers, "Peace, be still."
If we always have cleared, marked out paths with no obstacles or hindrances in our way, we can't really experience true peace. THAT comes when we reach the Red Sea and Pharoah's armies are rushing towards you with their chariots. You have no place to go, nowhere to hide, no way to escape. THAT is when you raise your rod and God parts the waters so you can walk across on dry land. THAT is when you remain calm, "stand still and watch God rescue you."
As I read in my Advent devotional this afternoon, "When God led His people out of bondage in Egypt they soon came to what SEEMED like a dead end at the edge of the Red Sea. The people were so bewildered they cursed God saying, 'Could we not have died in Egypt? Did you have to bring us into the wilderness to meet our end?' Yet, as it turned out, the desert and the sea were OPPORTUNITIES for God to show His great power to His people."
Louie Giglio goes on to say, "It's likely YOU have felt the same way at times, up against insurrmountable odds. But God doesn't even blink at the roadblocks in front of you. In one miraculous motion, He parted the sea before His people and led them through on dry ground. And God can part YOUR "Red Sea" if and WHEN He wants to."
In anticipating the birth of Jesus, and now His second coming, we look forward to all God has planned. In the meantime, as we wait, we should NOT be surprised at the "fiery trials" we encounter. We should NOT turn our noses at the suffering. We should NOT try to avoid the pain. Rather, as we face each obstacle the enemy throws in our path, may we turn our eyes upward to Jesus. May we REST in Him. Following Paul's instructions to pray about everything, may we experience PEACE IN THE MIDST OF OUR CHAOS.
That sounds so much better than fear, worry, doubt, and dread.
I'd rather have peace than frustration and anger any day.
And so, I will cling to my God, my ROCK.
I will NOT be shaken.
Instead, in the midst of everything going on in my life and all around the world, I will rest in God's promise spoken through the prophet Isaiah...
You will keep in PERFECT PEACE
all who trust in You,
all whose thoughts are fixed on You!
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