How do we achieve peace in our hearts during these turbulent times? The threats seem to surround us and to mount every day...gas prices rise as housing prices drop, fear of recession, global terrorism, war, unfathomable government decisions all compound to the point that everyone is walking around in a perpetual state of unease.
I know that God says He will give us “peace that passes all understanding” but only if we give in. Only if we start each day with confidence in our hearts, the confidence that God is indeed in control and that all things happen for a reason. God causes the trials or He allows them...either way, they have passed through His hands before we ever see them.
The Bible is full of uneasy people:
Moses is tending flocks of sheep and minding his own business when God calls Him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He should leave this life style which even though it wasn't easy, it was predictable and manageable. On top of that, He will have to face Pharaoh...the man he grew up with and wrestle with him for their freedom...and he doesn't even speak well...much less with authority! But he does it. God gives him Aaron for help...and boy is he a big help!!! Moses is rewarded with the task of leading thousands of grumpy, grumbling people through Sinai for 40 years. And all this time he preforms his tasks knowing that even though he has been faithful in much, he has not been faithful enough to enter Canaan.
Abraham is prosperous. He is well known and respected in his homeland. But then God calls him to leave this place and go to another, totally foreign place. They suffered famine during their travels and had to go to Egypt. Lot is taken prisoner and Abraham must rescue him. A few years after Abraham and Sara have their long awaited son, God asks for him...to be sacrificed...by Abraham's own hand. Even though he is stopped at the last minute, what agony he must have endured during the journey to the mountain!
Elijah the Prophet is called to turn God's people back. He announces to King Ahab that there will be drought in the land until he speaks the word. He goes into hiding...is fed by ravens and a widow, he raises her son from the dead, lives under the threat of Jezebel's wrath, has a Sacrifice Show Down with 450 of Baal's priests which of course he wins. Elijah then has the people kill the priest of Baal (which makes Jezebel even madder)...in the end, the rains come and God saves him.
These are just three of the many. While God will probably never use most of us in such high profile ways, He uses us none the less. How can you discount the work you do? Reaching out to those in need? Teaching those who have not heard? Caring for the weary and the ill? While it may not be front page news, it shows those around us the love of God and His peace. People are impacted by what they see happening in their lives and in their part of the world...not what is on the nightly news.
We can react to these times by showing our confidence in the One we love, the One we know controls all things. The quote tells us...”People will forget what you have said, they will forget what you have done, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” Help them feel what you and I feel...
No comments:
Post a Comment