Category: Peace

“Prepare to Be Surprised”…

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In the movie Dan In Real Life, Dan is a dad considering what to say to his daughter as she graduates from high school & heads out into the world. As he does so, he starts to examine his own life, & how often it surprised him, or failed to meet any of his expectations.  So, why is it that we’re always asking graduates what their “plans” are? Why do we try so hard to prepare for what’s coming, when in reality, we know there is no adequate preparation? Whatever happens will probably come as pretty much…a total surprise.  While plans & dreams can be great things, our expectations of what we think our lives are supposed to look like so often constrain & disappoint us. We often hold these visions so firmly, & cling so tightly, that it makes it difficult for our hands to be open to other great things God has intended for us.

 

Corrie Ten Boom, survivor of the Holocaust & author of The Hiding Place, said it this way: “I’ve learned to hold things loosely.  I don’t like it when He has to pry them from my grip.”  Living a surrendered life is not easy, but it IS what God call us to do, & it must be done over & over again.  In his Superpower Poem, Steve Gross states: “Openness to what is can take us far. Suffering is rooted in wanting things to be different than the way they are.”  How true this is, & how grand it would be if we could live each day as small children: open to whatever the day brings, playful & joyful in the opportunities that come, ready for adventure…all simply because they’re trusting in the good things they know their parents have prepared. “It isn’t that I cling to Him, or struggle to be blessed. He simply takes my hand in His, & there I let it rest. So I dread not any pathway, dare to sail on any sea, since the handclasp of my savior makes the journey safe for me” (unknown). It’s safe, we can trust Him…so let’s consider willingly surrendering our expectations to our Lord, & live prepared…to be surprised.

“Better Is One Day In Your Courts”…

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I live in the most beautiful place, in a small town on the western slope of Colorado, at the foot of incredible mountain ranges. Each morning the sun rises in a perfectly azure Colorado sky; each evening, it sets, casting all hues of glory on the tips of the peaks. The shifting of light and shadows on the surrounding hills often overwhelms my senses. In the winter, each summit is capped by the whitest snow, causing bare trees to hang heavy in sparkling filigree; in the summer, inconceivable varieties of wildflowers paint brand new wheels of bold color with each thousand feet of elevation. In the spring, the bright green of the budding trees in the forests takes my breath away; each autumn, their floors, and the mountains in which they dwell, are carpeted by golden aspen leaves and bronzed tundra. The vistas are stunning, the wanderings within their nooks and crannies always seem to hold new revelations for me.

 

I’m so lucky to have lived almost half my life in this incredible region. Every day, I count myself blessed with life and breath and movement, and the gift to live here in this wondrous, lovely place. If I remain here all my days, and spend them exploring the vast ranges and expanses of wilderness, there will still be more that remains unseen. My days have been graced with a quality of life many others desire; I’m filled with gratitude to be able to call it home, to rest here in this place.

 

Though this compelling beauty captivates me daily, it’s just one small corner of earth, just a barely visible dot within our solar system. Yet this place has nothing compared to the courts of God. In Psalm 84:10, the psalmist says “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty. Better is one day in your courts, than a thousand elsewhere.” We are all invited to dwell there in that glorious place, making our home with Him, for all eternity. We are all invited there now, today, to enter into the fullness of His abiding presence.

Lovers of Peace…

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“Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). These are the qualities God asks us to demonstrate with our lives when He is asked by His people “What does the Lord require of us?”. This word comes in the Old Testament, an age that was under the Law. Even from then, the things God asks of us are really quite simple, but most certainly, simultaneously quite profound. In a way, they can be summed up in a code of peace. We are to have peace with God, peace with others, & peace within ourselves. If that peace exists, these qualities will be consistently demonstrated in our lives. In the New Testament, Jesus & his disciples often command us to be lovers of peace, & peace is also delineated as one of the pieces of the “armor of God”. Paul tells us to put it on every day in Ephesians 6:15: “having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” The Gospel simply means “good news”, & we associate this with God’s gift of salvation from our sins & darkness through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.

 

But…there’s a piece of this armor that I’ve often missed. Not only does donning God’s armor mean we are equipped with that Word of the Gospel…it also means we must demonstrate the PEACE that news brings to our lives (The Armor of God, Priscilla Shirer). That PEACE is what speaks into the hearts & minds of those around us. It’s what equips & empowers us to live in hope & life. If we don’t demonstrate it, then we’re not “speaking” His good news to the world in action & deed. Perhaps that means we’re not truly allowing His Spirit to empower us in the moment-by-moment living. Another piece of good news, however, is that this peace is not something we can produce on our own, it is described as a fruit & byproduct of His Holy Spirit working in us (Galatians 5:22-23). After accepting His salvation, all we must do is allow His Spirit to work within us as His vessels. We must simply allow His PEACE to PERMEATE our hearts & minds & souls if we are to offer it over & over again to a broken world living without His hope & His life. I want to soak it in, and let it permeate my thoughts…and heart…and words…and relationships.