“For the word of
God is living and active…” (Hebrews 4:12)
The
power of God’s truth upon our lives never ceases to amaze me. When we face difficulties and trials in our
lives, we can be certain that when we turn to Father God and the Lord Jesus Christ,
there will be comfort and peace to be found.
Frankly, there are some situations in life where it may seem that
comfort and peace will be impossible to be found. We feel overcome by circumstances that seem
larger than life and more powerful than God.
However, what may seem to be
is not the reality of what truly is.
The
truth is that through Christ Jesus, Who unconditionally loves us, we are able
to more than conquer over the trials and tribulations of our lives. (Romans 8:37)
I
have been having a particular concern over the past month. With each passing day, the concern has grown
stronger and it’s hard to put it out of my mind. I am thinking about it all the time. As last week came to an end, the concern
became an outright panic and panicked “What If” scenarios began to have a field
day in my mind. It felt overwhelming, my
mind raced, and my heart pounded with fear.
My
first human instinct during such moments is to talk to family or friends and
tell them all about what’s going on hoping their affirmations will make me feel
better or provide a logical explanation that will calm me. But there was this part of me that did not
want human words or comfort because, even though they would have loving
intentions, my friends or family could not provide the answers to this
concern. I didn’t want or need any pat
answers or Bible verse; I needed some super abounding peace!
Only
God has the answers to this concern and knows exactly what is going on, and I
fully realize that. So I turned to
Him. I cannot see Him and I cannot
audibly hear Him like another human being, but I have full confidence in Him
and in His power and control over every facet of my life and over this entire
world and human race. During the panic
attack that ensued, I began to pray and call out to God. I affirmed my knowledge that He is God over every
single thing that happens in my life and is happening right now. I affirmed His complete sovereignty. I declared that He could bring me peace
because I know that it is true. I begged
for Him to reign in my panic and grant me peace and direction on the next steps
that I must take in order to address my concern. I know that He is the giver of the wisest
counsel known to man. In all my declarations
and petitions to Him, I was filled with faith and trust in spite of the
panic. While panic wanted to have its
way with me, Christ Jesus was continuing to fill me with faith to still believe
the truth that God is greater than EVERY situation in this life.
The
next morning I awoke realizing that I was no longer panicked. In fact, I couldn’t believe that I had been
in such a frenzy the night before. Heavenly
peace had poured down upon me, and it was almost unbelievable. I was in complete awe of how peaceful I felt
the next day. There was no human
explanation; it was all out of God. As I
pondered this peace that had showered down upon me and the joy and happiness
that I felt with it, these words kept repeating through my mind over and over
again:
“Be rejoicing in
the Lord always! Again, I will declare,
be rejoicing! … the Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God, and the peace of God, that is superior to every frame of
mind, shall be garrisoning your hearts and your apprehensions in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)
His
superior peace was unquestionably protecting my mind and heart and had reigned
in all my fears! They had run loose like
crazy, wild horses the night before, but God had rounded them all back up and
settled them down by His power.
It
is very hard for us to not worry about ANY thing in our lives. But when we do, by prayers and petitions,
with thanksgiving, we can let all our requests be made known to
God, and His mighty peace that is superior to every frame of mind will
be protecting (by military force!) our hearts and our apprehensions. It is a peace which transcends the greatest of
earthly circumstances. I know that this
peace is true and exists because it has been revealed in my life multiple times. This is all made available to us and possible
for us in Christ Jesus!
May
we continue to experience God’s superior peace on our daily journey through
this life. It is a peace which compares to no other.
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