Peace

Hope in the Middle of Worry

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All our striving, worrying and stress comes from the mistaken belief that if we just tried a little harder or worked a little longer that we could win God favor. But Jesus Christ freely gives us rest for heart and soul as we discover in God alone our true acceptance and love and power to live for Him!

No matter what the world throws at us today or who wins the election – Jesus never changes. He is always the Good Shepherd and offers to be our friend. What is your answer to Him? This week’s song session includes Take my Life and Let it Be, What a Friend We Have in Jesus and Near to the Heart of God. May God bless you richly with His peace so that even with the world in chaos around us we can have a message of the hope of Jesus Christ.

Waiting on God’s Weaving

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Wait for the Lord: be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.           Psalm 27:14 ESV

One of my least favorite plays (which I was compelled to watch because mom said so) was titled “Waiting for Gadot” It involved a couple of guys hanging around  waiting for a friend who guess what…never showed up! For an eight year old who far preferred Davy Crockett; Daniel Boone or Kidnapped; this was akin to Chinese water torture. Though I hated the play, it left an indelible impression on me about waiting. However when King David uses the word wait in this Psalm he isn’t at all suggesting the waiting for the train kind of waiting that we might associate with it.

Instead the Hebrew word for wait: quvah – comes from a root which implies two cords being woven together into a rope. Secondarily it includes something that my second language of Portuguese calls it; which is hope. In fact in Portuguese hoping and waiting are even the exact same word!

So what you might ask, “what good does that do for me?” That’s a great question and the answer is plenty! This kind of waiting isn’t just hanging out and hoping that God will show up. In fact God already has shown up in Bethlehem and His plan since that moment is that in our times of doubt and fear that our hearts will be steadily and slowly woven together with His. As the Apostle Paul states  in his letter to the Romans:

“And hope does not put us to shame because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. Romans 5:5 ESV

So whether our crisis is a sickness like the Corona virus which has brought our nation to a halt; a broken relationship or shattered dreams, God is right here – right now waiting for you and I. His heart is open and ready to receive us when we open our hearts to receive Him. As Jesus hung  in agony on the cross He gave His spirit into His Father’s hands. Our waiting on God means putting our hearts into His hands and then stepping back as the Holy Spirit weaves us together with Him in the love of Jesus Christ!

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A Quiet Listening Heart

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And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful Colossians 3:15

Even with cell phones, computers and dozens of social agencies one of the greatest problems we face today is loneliness. It still feels as if no one is listening. God’s word points us to His solution: the peace of Jesus Christ. The first peace we need is peace with God. When we come to Jesus Christ He releases us from trying to be good enough because in Him we discover that no matter what; He loves us. He came into the world to sit with sinners and His cry of forgiveness from the cross quiets our hearts. Secondly the Bible points out that we are called into one body with everyone else who belongs to Him. God designed us with a longing to belong; and that longing is met in connection with His people. He shows us that our own loneliness does not give us an excuse to isolate ourselves but instead we should take the initiative to listen to someone else’s hurts.  Listening brings us all together. Along our journey towards peace we finally also discover peace with ourselves. After spending our lives struggling trying to be special we find peace only when we discover that everyone (including us) is special to God. In the moment that we find out that God has been listening to us all along His peace begins to perfectly reign. Once His wonderful peace  in we will begin to hear. There in a quiet heart we will be able to truly listen and to hear the hearts of others and of God.

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