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Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; 

not as the world gives, do I give you.

Let not your heart be troubled,

nor let it be fearful. 

~ John 14:27

 

Good morning dear sister!

I pray that you are enjoying the peace that the Lord gives, but if you are currently troubled or fearful, be comforted and encouraged by God’s love and never ending faithfulness toward you!

Way back, in my late teenage years, I was searching to be right with God. I thought that being right with Him meant going to church and trying to be good. I even took a catechism course so that I could be “confirmed”. Even now as I write this, I realize that I had a misunderstanding of what the word ‘confirmation’ means. I thought that by going through the class and reading the Bible that God was confirming me, that is, accepting me. I thought that learning about Him and His church made me acceptable in His sight.

As I proceeded through the graduation ceremony, the Pastor proclaimed the above verse over my bowed head. Peace! How I longed for peace! That was a perfect verse for me! I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t just for me, but I suppose that many of my classmates needed peace from God as well.

I did have some measure of peace in the years that followed, but as college classes, bills and jobs piled up I lost sight of the Lord’s peace. In fact, I lost sight of the Lord as well. I got so caught up in the cycle of classes, work and bill paying, not to mention a social life, that I put my Bible on the shelf where it gathered dust for a couple of years.

Jesus may have left His peace with me, but with all the cares of the world, I had left Him on the shelf along with my Bible. I was too embarrassed and ashamed to pray, thinking that I didn’t deserve God’s attention. My heart was both troubled and fearful. I didn’t know how to get back into God’s good graces.

Then, someone told me that what I needed was not catechisms or confirmations, but to repent! When I took my focus off Jesus, the only person I focused on was myself. I was self-conscious instead of Holy Spirit-conscious! I was deaf to God’s voice and listening to my own sinful and wayward mind.

I repented and was brought into a right relationship with God, but sometimes it is still a struggle to leave myself in the Lord’s peace when I have been offended or things don’t work out the way I think they should. When that happens, the Lord reminds me of the conditions of His peace and shows me I am the one who has strayed, not Him.

“You will keep her in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, because she trusts in You.” ~ Isaiah 26:3 NKJV, sister translation

If our attention is fixed on God, we forget about ourselves, our troubles and our fears! The Light of His glory chases the darkness of doubt away! We may even get so confident that we will agree with Paul the Apostle when he said, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me” (Phil.4:13), but remember, Paul was going through a great trial when he proclaimed that! Although he was unjustly accused and imprisoned, he didn’t take offense, he had no self pity. His mind was fixed on Jesus, not his circumstances! He did not let his heart become troubled or fearful! He trusted in God!

So, I ask you, my precious sister, are you troubled or afraid? If you are, think about the things that you are looking at. Consider the thoughts, opinions and ideas you are letting into your mind. This world has no true peace to offer. Turn your gaze toward Jesus! He alone is our peace! Being rightly related to Him is the safest place to be! 

Fill your mind with His Word and His promises, He is trustworthy and faithful, even when we are not. He loves us that much! He loves YOU that much!

Keep your eyes on Him!

With love, your sister, Celeste