Peace

Lately I've been dwelling on thoughts about God's peace. From a personal standpoint, it is something I have been struggling with as of late, and I'd love to share some of those thoughts with you.

First and foremost, true peace comes from Christ alone. Isaiah 26:12 says "Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us." Peace is not something we bring about as a result of our own actions (no matter how righteous they are.) Peace is established by God, and any good we have done is because of his grace.

Secondly, peace is a result of the spirit at work in us. Everyone loves to recite Galations 5:22..."But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Peace is a fruit of the spirit. This leads into my next point.

Peace stems from a mindset, not an emotion. This means that it is something I may have to work at from time to time. Now, to be clear, this does not mean that God's peace is the result of man's effort. This is far from the truth, as we already know that true peace is found in Jesus and no one else. What I mean to say here is that peace, like all the other fruit of the spirit, is not just some feeling that we get. It is worked out over time as we embrace the truth, say 'no' to our flesh, and pursue godliness. All of this is done through Christ alone.

I think this is the toughest one for me. It is so much easier to think that peace is an emotion that just settles on us when the time is right. If this were the case, it would allow us to sit back, relax, and indulge in spiritual laziness. Praise be to God, he has much better plans for us! He knows that our emotions are fragile. That is why I thank him for verses like 1 John 3:10, which says that "God is greater than our hearts." In a similar manner, his peace is greater than our hearts because it is not at the mercy of our emotions.

Peace is the result of a heart at rest. This is where that mindset comes in. Our hearts are put to rest when we know the truth and cling to God's promises. When things go south, I am so quick to forget all that God has promised me (as if his Word isn't enough to remind me day in and day out.) Worse yet, I let my problems cloud my view of who God is and I forget about his very nature. In the words of Mark Altrogge, God isn't good only when I prosper, and he isn't true only when I'm filled up. He is not king only when I am carefree, or God only when I am well. He is good when I am poor and needy. He is true when I'm parched and dry. He still reigns in the deepest valley, and he is still God in the darkest night. This mindset requires the core of our relationship with Christ...faith.

Peace comes from faith in the Prince of Peace. It is found when we understand who we are in light of who God is and all that he's done for us. When we look to the cross and truly understand even a fraction of what Jesus has done for us, we can take comfort in our identity in him. This is huge! Our identity in Christ is what frees us to "set our minds on things above" rather than our circumstances below. As a result, we find hope and lasting peace.

Peace is for God's glory...not ours. We reap the benefits of his grace, but ultimately, it is all for him. The goal of this is that others may see the fruit of our salvation and praise him.

Whatever you face today, don't be afraid to wrestle with God's peace. Cry out to Jehovah Shalom and ask him to quiet your restless heart. Take comfort in the knowledge his Word supplies and "pursue peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (2 Timothy 2:22.)


"Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." (Isaiah 49:23b)

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace." (Colossians 3:15)

Late Bloomers

I've always been what many would call a "late bloomer." I didn't get to be a flower girl until I was almost almost old enough to be a bridesmaid. My dream of spending hot summers playing games with throngs of neighbor kids didn't come true until I was well into my teenage years. I've always looked upon these kinds of experiences with a hint of amusement. It wasn't until I read the story of Elizabeth in the book of Luke that I came to see that God has a special place in his heart for late bloomers like me.

We hear the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth every time Christmas rolls around. He was a priest; she was his wife. They had no children for many many years...and then along came John. I don't know about you, but sometimes after hearing a certain story told the same way at the same time each year, I find myself skimming over it in my own private reading. Thankfully, God kept me from doing that this time around.

Luke 1:5 sets the scene, "In the time of Herod King of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years."

You get the picture. One couple. Too old. No children. Oh how God loves to do the impossible!

"Once when Zecharaiah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense...There an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar...the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth for he will be great in the sight of the Lord." (Luke 1:8-9, 11, 13-14)

I'd like to point out a few things here. First, you may already know that having lots of children was a huge component of Elizabeth's culture at the time. It was part of a woman's identity, and to not have kids was a terrible thing...so terrible that many people thought it could be some kind of punishment for sin. The affect that this had on Elizabeth would be significantly greater than if she were living at the present time. Having children would have been one of her greatest desires. It seems almost unfair that God would deny of her of that wish. It is hard to reconcile the pain she felt with the love of a God who could grant her children in an instant. After all, her desire doesn't appear to be outright sinful.

Let us not forget that God loves saving the day. He had events perfectly orchestrated before Elizabeth was even born. She got her baby...just several years and miracle later. This resulted in God getting more glory--not anybody else.

Now I would like to shift gears to what appears to be a totally unrelated story. John 11 tells of how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. A couple of lines in this passage just kill me because I think they are so powerful.

In John 11:32, it says, "When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said,' Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.'" How many times have we said the same thing? If you erase a few of the words in that statement and replace them with your own, you get something to the affect of, "Lord, if you had been here--if you had acted--this death/loss/pain wouldn't have happened." Jesus hears Mary's statement and is "deeply moved in spirit and troubled." (vs. 33.) Make no mistake, Jesus does feel our pain in these circumstances! He felt Elizabeth's pain when she suffered for not having any children, and he feels yours too.

The amazing thing is that this pain is not without purpose. A few verses later, right before Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, he says, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" and turning to the Father, he continues later on, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me." Right after that, he proves that God has indeed heard him by raising Lazarus from the dead.

The whole point I want to make here is that it was for God's greater glory that Lazarus had died. To be sure, Jesus could have healed him while he was still living, but he didn't. God could have given Elizabeth children while she was still young, but he didn't. Instead, he orchestrated events so that when everything was said and done, the only explanation could be the work of himself.

Oftentimes, this involves waiting and great faith on our part. Did you notice that in the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, the angel spoke the words, "Your prayer has been heard"? We don't know if that prayer was spoken years before Zechariah entered the temple that day or if he was still praying it up until that moment. Whatever the case, Zechariah's faith in God prompted him to pray for a child. Likewise, Martha was the one who declared, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." (John 11:27) In both of these examples, faith was present. Then came the waiting.

You may be experience a time of waiting right now. Maybe you are feeling a little bit like Elizabeth, with a whole list of desires that haven't been fulfilled. Maybe you are drowning in the aftermath of a tragedy like Mary and Martha. You think, "If only God would have acted, this wouldn't have happened." The thing to remember is that it is not an issue of why, but when.

Psalm 34:18 says, "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." God is not slow in keeping his promises. When he says he'll save us, he will. It just becomes a matter of his perfect, impeccable timing and how he--not you, not anybody else--will get the greater glory in the end. You may appear to be a "late bloomer", but in God's eyes, you'll be right where you should be.

Abundant Life

In leu of this blog's title, I have a confession to make. I am the champion of starting projects and never finishing them. Journaling has never been a strength of mine, despite all my good intentions to be a faithful writer. I think I can now add blogging to the list. My last post was over a year ago...awesome.

Since it would be next to impossible to cover all the wonderful things God has revealed to me in the past 15 months, I will not attempt to. However, because 2010 was the most transformational year of my life to date, I feel like it would be foolish to not write about some of the lessons I have learned.

John 10:10 says"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." This verse jumped out at me in the midst of a particularly dark time period last year, and I have clung to the hope it offers ever since. After reading it, I came to a rather stunning conclusion. Jesus is not against me.

I don't know why, or for how long, I subconciously believed this lie, but John 10:10 brought me face to face with the consequences of my twisted thinking.

Now, to others, this conclusion may not be as earth-shattering as it was for me. You see, I am a people pleaser, and this forces me to feel like I must prove myself to others time and again. This has further lead me to a place where I feel like people are against me. It's a hard concept to wrap your head around if you're not a people pleaser yourself. Because this has dominated the way I do relationships for as far back as I can remember, it has also become a huge factor in the way I relate to my Heavenly Father. It has encouraged me slip into an unbiblical mindset that says I must prove myself to God, and therefore he is against me.

But He isn't. That's Satan we're talking about.

According to that verse in John, Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. People pleasing steals, kills, and destroys. It steals your hope, kills your joy, and destroys your identity in Christ. Jesus has come to bring life...abundant life. He isn't against me.

I cannot accurately describe what a liberating feeling that has been for me. In the midst of much pain this past year, Jesus has revealed that abundant life to me. It has never been sweeter.

God is good. All the time. Don't ever forget it.

Ellie V.