Do not be anxious about
anything, but by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request
to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians
4:6
Let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to
peace. And be thankful. For God is not a God of disorder, but of
peace – as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. 1Cor 14:33
You will keep in perfect
peace those you minds are steadfast, because they trust I you. Isaiah 26:3.
That being said, God has
recently challenged me that dying to myself involves pain, that as Satan
challenges us as we walk along God’s path it involves pain. CS Lewis writes in The
problem of Pain that “the full acting out of the
self’s surrender to God therefore demands pain.”. A good friend of mine also sent me a link
through Relevant magazine entitled can inner peace be misleading (http://www.relevantmagazine.
These last few weeks have
been really difficult for me (Michelle) and my family. In the midst of difficulty I have found
myself doubting if I really heard God’s voice.
I felt like if this really, really, really is God’s will, isn’t supposed
to easy? Aren’t I supposed to have peace?
But God has encouraged me, that he sees every sparrow that falls and
promises to be with us, but also requires that we take up our cross and follow
up, as painful as that may be… and that Satan doesn’t like it when we have
major breakthroughs, but would rather have us stay living in sin, fear and
complacency (ease). It is our responsibility
and joy as believers to push past the complacency to seek the abundant life,
and sometimes the abundant life is not the easy life. Perhaps my definition of peace before was “ease”
or “self-fullfillment”, but God’s definition is the abundant life, fulfillment of
God’s kingdom, not me.
It is with this that submit
to the Lord and am almost encouraged (through the help of my friends Kavi and
Taylor Simpson, Chelsey Clarke, Tim and Leona O’keefe). Thank you.
Community is good. Even when I
fail to see that perspective, God encourages those around me and has been so
faithful to remind me that he placed us on this path to Ethiopia again and
again and again.
This past week, after
some major doubt, God allowed me to care for my very first Ethiopian patient in
the states. He reminded me that the
sprit is working in the challenges through sweet reconciliation and restoration
in our marriage. He allowed me to be
challenged by his word, both through a prayer meeting specifically on peace and
the “coincidental” timing of the above article on peace all in a period of
three days.
God is good and faithful
to complete the work he started (and he reminded me He did start it, not
me).
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