Resting In Peace Now...

Peace is not the absence of problems, it is the presence of God. I can honestly tell you that I have more peace in my life today than I have ever had before. That does not mean that I have no problems or that I am free from any concerns; it simply means I am coming to know how to trust God. Trusting God in His sovereignty and trusting God that He is always looking for my best interest are two things that are becoming reality to me in my every day life. Thank YOU, Lord, for bringing me to places I never knew.

Primarily, I believe there are 3 robbers of our peace.
1. Pressures (deadlines, bills to pay, peer, etc)
2. Problems (sickness, loss of job, etc)
3. People (abuse, prodigal child, criticism, etc)

Just as sin robs you of your joy, worry robs you of your peace. For every second you spend in worry, you are robbing yourself of God's peace. When you TRULY give God your worries, He gives you His peace. The key word here is truly. We can say we do this and so many times, we allow ourselves to recapture that worry and take it back. I know all too well this to be true because so many times I do it myself.

Ways to go about having peace are found in Philippians, chapter 4.
Specifically, verse 3, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
I know some people will say that it is easy for me to say that as I am not the one facing _____, fill in the blank. That is absolutely correct, I am not. BUT, I am not the one who says this; Paul is! Remember Paul is not free in the world here; he is in a dungeon prison, chained to a Roman soldier 24 hours a day living on bread and water, and nasty water at that, thinking every single day is his last day. He is facing a horrible death at any time and he knows this and is living with this while what? REJOICING, yes, rejoicing. I do not believe for one second this was an easy thing to do for Paul. I know it is hard to rejoice when we are facing cancer, job loss, abuse, a prodigal child....yet, Paul emphasizes the fact that we should rejoice.
I am also not implicating that we should rejoice that we have lost our job or that we are facing cancer or whatever your problem may be; I am saying that we are to rejoice IN THE LORD. He is always good even when our circumstances are not. You can always rejoice in the greatness of God, in the grace of the Lord.

Philippians 4:5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Relax. I take this meaning of near to be next to as in space, not near as in time. So to know that our Creator is always near us is more comfort than any words or instruction from any person. When others see you calm in the middle of a storm, they want to know why and how you can possibly be this way: Jesus near.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
I have found that it is hard for me to worry when I am thanking God and praying. Every time we are confronted with a problem, a dilemma, I think it is an invitation to take it to God in prayer and for Him to grow us. It is certainly easy to thank Him in the good times but what I am going after here is that we don't necessarily thank God when things are good, we thank God because HE is good. I want to be the person who can look into the face of God and thank Him for bringing these problematic things to me, knowing I have been given the ability in Him to release them to Him because He cares for me and He has my best interest at heart. The closer I have become to the Father, the deeper and more intimate my prayer life has become. It is a time of refuge and of sweet consolation for me to be in fervent prayer. When I pray, I find it hard to worry. My cares are placed at the foot of the Cross and I am able to walk away KNOWING that I KNOW that He cares. This would be considered release. Release it to HIM.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This is the rest that God gives us IN HIM. This is peace. Like I said before, peace is not the absence of problems, it is the presence of God.

I pray that God's peace be with each one of you today and that you seek HIM in new and deeper ways. I pray that each one who reads this will have all doubt removed that God is good. Believe me, I have problems but I have a much bigger God than any problems I could ever face. Thank YOU, Lord, that YOU are able to handle them all and that YOU will work all things to the good for those of us who believe. May you all believe in HIS goodness today. In Jesus Holy Name....