Walk by Faith

Peace Beyond Our Understanding

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 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 
Philippians 4:7 NKJV

Part of the joy as well as the sadness of nursing home ministry is walking with dear friends along their path of faith but then having to say goodbye when they reach the end. This past week our friend Don walked out of his room at Gulfcoast Hospice and into the presence of Jesus. The amazing legacy of his faith is a treasure indeed and the peace that Don showed to the very end was an inspiration. I hope you will be encouraged, rather than saddened by my short testimony and that this old song, “Peace Like a River” will lighten your load and brighten your path.

Facing the Unseen

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Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.   1 Timothy 1:17 KJV

Life sometimes hands us unforeseen results. It happened to me when the sun came up one Sunday just as it had always done. We dressed, went to church, and got ready for the communion service. Then just as I was setting up some special music at the sound board my cell phone rang.

The call was from our son who was in despair because his wife had walked out the door that day and he didn’t know what to do. That moment all of our lives were changed as if we had been hit by a lightning strike. We did not do everything right. We certainly did not know all the answers but we did drop everything and desperately prayed for God’s help as we drove some of the longest four hours of our lives as parents.

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Photo by Jatin Anand on Pexels.com

I wish I could say that everything worked out: It didn’t. I wish I could point to a rosy happy finale to the scars it has left on our family but it hasn’t happened that way Only God’s grace and the presence of His Holy Spirit have seen us through.  We have at times faced the invisible forces of  anger, disappointment and fear. But we are still standing, in faith and still trusting God. We have learned that only Jesus sees the unseen and only He knows the way through to victory. He is our invisible God and who watches over us through the night of despair to the day of victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God’s GPS

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 For we walk by faith, not by sight 2 Corinthians 5:7

When God calls us to follow, Christ many of us eagerly jump up and try running to catch up with Jesus. But sometimes it seems that the harder we try the farther behind we get. One reason may be because we are trying to live for Jesus but we still keep the same familiar goals of our past life. Until we see the new goals that Jesus has for us we will just keep going the wrong way.

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So God gives us a new GPS system for our spirits. God’s system is the WBF-walking by faith system.  Our old GPS won’t work anymore because our new path is invisible to our natural eyes. Jesus says odd things like, “Come to me out on the waters” when we are in a nice safe boat. Jesus tells us to feed five thousand when we only have five loaves and two fish.

As we walk the faith journey God’s satellite system (the Bible) points out exactly where we are. God’s GPS acquires our location and begins to call out when to turn, and when to keep going straight. If we keep walking in faith, the new system works perfectly. We see the old goals for the empty promises they are. But getting used to God’s way will take time. We make some mistakes along the way, turn up a wrong path or two or even fall to old temptations. But God’s GPS also carries with it a wonderful roadside assistance program called mercy. If we get off track, head off into a field or get stuck in the mud there is still hope. We just need to stop, ask for God’s mercy, and listen. God’s GPS will re-acquire our position then lead us by faith one step at a time to His destination!