Peaceful
Peace is a word we often hear at Christmas time. I can hear strains of Silent Night in my head as I type -- "sleep in heavenly peace."
Or you probably hear Luke 2:14 quoted more than usual at this time of year: "Peace on earth, good will toward men."
God's idea of peace is wholeness in the lives of His people. Completeness in every realm. No lack. But you know as well as I do that peace can be an elusive thing. Do you feel peaceful right now? If not, what can you do to get there?
I Got Peaceful
The other night, I experienced God's peace in a wonderful way, and I wanted to share it with you, because it's for all of us.
As I lay my head on the pillow after a particularly busy (and potentially stressful) day, I decided to meditate on Isaiah 26:3 to help me sleep. It says, You (God) will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You.
I knew from that verse that perfect peace would come to me by keeping my mind "stayed" (or focused, set) on God.
Okay, so...you know as well as I do that my mind did NOT "stay" on Him at first! It started there, sure...but 10 seconds later, it was flitting around, hashing out some detail of my day.
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'd have to say it probably took 20 rounds for me to catch myself thinking on something else and haul my mind all the way back to thinking on Him!
But I was determined, and thankfully, it eventually happened. And do you know, I spent the next 3 hours or so in the most wonderful fellowship with the Father. He filled every nook and cranny, and it was such a sweet time.
I probably got less sleep than usual, but woke up feeling refreshed, and PEACEFUL. It lasted all day long, and I knew that this is how He probably wants us to live all the time!
Peace Under Pressure
I think we sometimes misunderstand peace. We think of it as sitting by a quiet lake with a cool breeze blowing and all is well with the world.
But the peace that Jesus gave us (John 14:27) is NOT for those few-and-far-between times when everything around us is peaceful. It's exactly for the opposite times when our circumstances aren't peaceful! It's for when we're under pressure, or there's no peace to be found.
When you're driving in traffic at rush hour and it's 100 degrees out and the car is threatening to overheat and the kids are fussing and the driver in front of you cuts you off -- that's the time His peace is meant for!
When people all around you are stressed, or there's too much to do, or you don't have enough, or you get a bad report, or a crisis happens -- those are the times for which Jesus gave us His peace.
This peace isn't produced from circumstances, like the breezy day by the lake. It comes from the spirit realm. And Isaiah 26 tells us that it comes from what we put our mind on.
Isn't that good news? It means we can have peace any time. Because WE are the ones in control of what we think on.
Now, we all know it isn't easy. But it's possible. It takes spiritual effort to focus on God when circumstances around us look bad and clamor for our attention.
It comes from inside. From a daily, living, vital relationship with your Father God. And it's in you. You don't have to go somewhere else to find it.
Peace is For You
This peace is the good news that the angels brought to earth that day when Jesus was born.
When they said, "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men" they didn't mean that there would be no more wars or circumstances on earth. They meant that supernatural PEACE had come to earth. It had come to make it's home in the heart of whosoever would believe on Jesus and make them whole.
Peace is God's goodwill toward men. No more separation from the Father...Jesus bridged the gapped and made sure that you and I could dwell in peace with God. This peace is for you...and for anyone else who chooses to receive it.
So I wish you a PEACE-filled Christmas...may you experience His peaceful wholeness this season and all year long...
