Week 4:
Peace
“Come
to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
– Matthew 11:28-30
I
finally broke free! I had been imprisoned for so long that when I got out, I
ran as far and as fast as I could and I was never going back. And I wasn’t
going to slow down or stop for anything or anyone. But that is just what I
needed to do: SLOW DOWN! But the thought of slowing down terrified me. It meant
less time filled with distractions and more time open to think. It meant more
time alone…more time to hurt…
I
became anxious. Anxious for everything and anxious for nothing. And I couldn’t
allow myself to sit still. It was as if I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I couldn't allow
for any free moments to catch me off guard, so I would run. Not realizing at
first what I was doing, I filled my time with work, friends, and (what
seemed like) harmless activities, anything to keep me going. Because for the
first time in so long, I could do what I wanted, be who I wanted, hang out with
who I wanted and go where I wanted. I thought of myself as a “free-spirit”. I
thought my situation was one to admire! Finally! For the first time in so long
I didn't have to answer to anyone or anything…I was FREE! Or at
least…I thought I was…
It didn't take
long for God to stop me in my tracks, hit me over the head, and show me that
this “free-spirit” of mine was just insecurity and pride in disguise. Just
because I finally broke free from one form of
bondage, doesn't mean I was healed from all. I was still trapped by
my insecurity; only, it had taken a different form now. It went from placing me
in the wrong relationship, to making me never want to find any
relationship. I couldn't allow myself to ever become dependent on
anyone ever again. So on the surface, my pride kept me from hurting…but in my
heart, it kept me from healing. And when I finally realized this – I felt
as if the war would never be over. When would the fight end? When would I
finally be able to just breathe?
How
can I feel God’s love when I don’t stop and take the time to allow it? How can
I accept forgiveness from God when I am too busy to ask for it? How can I
forgive myself when all I want to do is avoid my problems? How can I forgive
others when all I want to do is avoid them? And how can I change everything in
my life for the better when I allow myself to become too busy to even ask God
what I need to change? And how can I learn how to have healthy relationships
when I couldn't make peace with the very reasons that lead me to
unhealthy ones?
The
things that “hold us back” can come in MANY different forms. These are the
things that keep us “distracted” from what is REALLY going on inside of us.
They can be plainly out in the open or they can disguise themselves as
something desirable. But no matter what they are doing and no matter where they
are pushing us, we are not going forward. And if we don’t ask God to show us
what they are each and every day, then we won't know how to recognize them. And
it won’t take long before they sweep us up into another distraction. Leaving us
no time to heal.
When
I finally took the time to settle down, so many worries flooded my mind. Where
would I go from here? How was I going to heal? How was I ever going to recover
from something so devastating and how long was it going to take? “I don’t have
time for this” – I remember sitting on my bed pleading with God to help me just
“get over” everything. But that’s not how we were created. We weren’t created
to just “get over” things. We were created to FEEL. Happiness. Hurt. We were
created to feel it all. Because it all serves a PURPOSE. When I realized that
my healing was going to be a process and my pain wasn’t something that was just
going to magically be removed from me – that is when I started to take it
seriously. I had no idea how I was going to get through all of this. The burden
was way too much for me to carry. But that was it! I was the one trying to
carry it! I was the one trying to heal myself! I was the one trying to change
myself and make myself a new person! It was ALL ME!!! Of course it wasn’t going
to work out that way…how can I search for healing and peace within myself when
I am the one lacking those things in the first place?
The
instructions are clear…”Come to me…” it is THAT simple. Go to HIM.
What
do you think of when you think of peace?
God
brings us peace to every situation when we ask. When I become anxious and start
to worry about life's little struggles, when I become terrified thinking about
what’s to come, when the tragedies of life are overwhelming and I don't
understand what is going on, and even in those times where I feel like I have
no idea what I am doing. God is there and He gives us peace. A peace that
acknowledges that there are troubles and worries all around us, yet we are
overwhelmed with comfort, because we know that HE is IN CONTROL.
Peace
can come in many different forms…
Peace in anxiousness
When we get
anxious and start to do things our way because we are afraid God will not take
care of it – that is when we start settling for less than what God has for us.
Because even the best that we could possibly imagine for ourselves, does not
even begin to compare with the best that God has for us. He is the only One who has
NEVER let us down. And His promises NEVER fail. And He will always put what is
best for us first!
Philippians
4:4-7 “Rejoice in the
Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to
all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I
think I struggled with anxiety to a certain degree before my relationship…but
after that relationship – my struggles with anxiety only became intensified. I
think it just came from being under such a negative microscope for such a long
time and always having to be so aware of each move I made and having to have an
explanation (or an excuse, rather) for every little thing…
Anxiety
quickly became a part of my every day life. I began worrying about the most
menial every day things and started having a difficult time being able to focus
on simple tasks and make simple decisions.
But
when God makes promises, He WILL deliver.
Matthew
6:25-34 “Therefore I
say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will
drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food
and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither
sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to
his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so
clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the
oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’
or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your
heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to
you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its
own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
One
day I became so sick of my worries and anxieties that I grabbed a pen and
journal and sat down and began to write a “worry list”. I wrote down everything
was worrying me and all of my doubts. I tried to think about what I was
actually accomplishing by worrying about all of these things and when I finally
realized that my fears were getting me no where – I wrote down the opposite of
all of my fears. I learned to take all the negative views I had developed of
relationships and work and every day life and replaced them with what perfect
relationships and work and life looked like it – Christ.
Peace in finding direction
Proverbs
16:9: “In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their
steps.”
Sometimes
when we are making decisions and are unclear of which way to go – we just need
to step back and analyze the situations.
God is NOT a God of confusion – but of peace and certainty. If there
is something He wants us to do – He will make it clear. And if there is
something He wants us to stay away from, He will make that clear as well.
1
Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace,
as in all the churches of the saints.”
Peace in fears
What
man means for evil – God uses for good!
Genesis
50:20, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish
what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
It’s
a crazy world we live in. Full of pain and suffering and deceit and
selfishness. But even through ALL of this which we experience, God finds us and
makes us into beautiful examples of hope and healing. No matter what someone
does to you – God will use it.
2
Timothy 1:7 “For
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound
mind.”
1
John 4:4 “You are of God, little children, and
have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the
world.”
1
John 4:18 “There is no
fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”
Psalm
4:8, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make
me dwell in safety”
Psalm
56:3,4 “Whenever I am
afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word). In God I have put
my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?”
John
16:33, “I have told
you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have
trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Peace in hurting
It
is easy at times to think that we are not supposed to feel pain or hurt or
suffering – but we were created to FEEL. Whether it is happiness or hurting. It
is all GOOD. If we cannot feel our struggles then we can never grow from them.
Thinking about our pain is not a bad thing – it is HOW we think about it that
can be damaging.
Psalm
147:3: “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Peace in relationships between fellow Christians
We are called to live a life above reproach. We cannot have peace in our
relationships unless we learn how to handle ourselves and realize that everyone
struggles.
Psalm
103:8, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in
mercy.”
Psalm
21:23, “Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles.”
Psalm
29:22, “An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in
transgression.”
Proverbs
15:1, “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Peace in insecurities
God wants to be the one that we turn
to for comfort and security. He wants to tell us why we are BEAUTIFUL! He wants
to tell us why we are DESIRABLE! He wants to tell us why He LOVES US! He wants
to tell us why we deserve the BEST that He has for us.
And
we should go to Him. We should seek for ALL of our security in HIM. Because
security can’t come from another human being. Such a perfect thing cannot be
created or even offered from something just as capable of insecurity as we are.
A girl’s security can only TRULY come from her original Creator – The only One
who TRULY knows the worth of her…As Christians, our problem doesn't necessarily
originate from us looking in the wrong places…It originates from when we
STOP looking in the right place.
Isaiah
26:3, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he
trusts in you.”
Colossians
1:19-23 “For God was
pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to
himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making
peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God
and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has
reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in
his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue
in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in
the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to
every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.”
Peace in frustration
We
are not meant to just “get over” things. It takes time and discipline.
Psalm
73:26, “My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my
heart and my portion forever.”
1
Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you
except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also
provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
He knows JUST what we need. And He will give
it to us JUST when we need it – not too soon, and not too late…because we don’t
need what HE has for us in our timing. We only need it in His. And His timing
is PERFECT.
We
NEVER know what God has planned and what He is doing and how He is going to use
us!!
Isaiah
55:8-11, “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways,’
declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the
rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without
watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for
the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my
mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and
achieve the purpose for which I sent it.’”
Christ is in our corner. He is rooting for us to win!!
“Discipline is
easy for me to swallow. Logical to assimilate. Manageable and appropriate. But
God’s grace? Anything but. Examples? How much time do you have?
David the
psalmist becomes David the voyeur, but by God’s grace becomes David the
psalmist again.
Peter denied
Christ before he preached Christ.
Zacchaeus, the
crook. The cleanest part of his life was the money he’d laundered. But Jesus
still had time for him.
The thief on the
corss: hell-bent and hung-out-to-die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the
next.
Story after
story. Prayer after prayer. Surprise after surprise. Seems that God is looking
more for ways to get us home than for ways to keep us out. I challenge you to
find one soul who came to God seeking grace and did not find it.” – Max Lucado
