Did you know that God commanded Aaron and his sons to speak the above blessing over the Israelites? God wants us to have peace. He desires to give it to us. It is a free offer from the hands of grace. This peace isn't contingent on outward circumstances, but is an inward settling of the soul. It is a peace that says, "It is well" even when the world around you is falling apart.
Where does this kind of unexplainable peace come from? It comes from a life lived in obedience to God. Kelly's words really resonated with me when she said, "I would rather have a clear conscience on a rocky road that be plagued by guilt on a silver street." My life has been rocky at times, but God's peace has been ever present. My spouse lives with chronic illness and there have been many lost dreams, pain, struggle, and tears, but God has been our anchor through it all. I can site many a time when the circumstances around me were anything but calm, but inside a tide of peace welled up as God whispered, "It is well. I'm here. I know. I care." When I sat by my husband's hospital bed wondering what was going to happen, the peace was there. When a doctor brashly said to my husband, "You'll be totally infertile within six months," the peace stood strong. (We now have two daughters and not through adoption.) When we got the 8:30 p.m. call from the hospital in San Francisco telling us they had a kidney for my husband and we had to be there at 5:00 a.m. the next morning, God's peace was flowed over me. This is not to say that my ship doesn't occasionally shuddered with the crashing waves, but the anchor of Christ holds firm and eventually I get back to that place where his peace reigns in unexplainable ways. Choose a question from chapter 9 and share your thoughts through the comments link. How has God's peace manifested itself in your life?
1 comment:
I'm taking question #2, describe the connections you've experienced between obedience and peace.
I have taken the chisel of repentance to the stone of disobedience in my life, sometimes I've needed a jackhammer while other times I can use a small hammer. When I'm in His word and spending time with Him daily I find that the stone chips away much easier. Being in tune to Him makes me more aware of those areas I need work on. When I resist His urging my peace dissipates but as I yield to the urging of the Holy Spirit my peace is restored.
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