Luke 2:13-14
Suddenly great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to me on whom his favor rests.” NIV
Christ was born on Christmas Day to take away our sins and the worries that result from them.
Glory to God this Christmas morning!
Psalm 119:165
Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. NIV
I found this reminder yesterday when I was searching the New International Version of the Bible for occurrences of the word, “wait.” This verse comes just before the “wait” reminder that I looked at yesterday.
This verse, this reminder, is all about obedience.
If we are obedient to God in all things, we will be granted peace such that nothing can trip us up.
The image that comes to mind is a Weeble — a Playskool toy that my sister had when she was little. Their commercial had a little song to it, and the words were, “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.”
Sure enough, they didn’t. I tried to keep them down … it was impossible. The toy is engineered such that no matter what you do, it always returns to it’s rightful orientation … right-side up and standing tall.
As an obedient Christian, I might wobble a bit in my clumsy attempts to do God’s will and to follow His commands, but, I will not end up face down in the dirt.
That’s a reminder not to worry, and that’s what I’ll think about today.
Filed under Old Testament, Peace, Psalms, Worry
Micah 5:5a
And he will be their peace. NIV
What a beautiful reminder! Just five words … powerful words.
Over a lifetime of reading Bible stories, and completing Bible studies, I don’t believe I’ve ever spent any real time studying Micah. And yet, here is a beautiful foretelling of Christ’s coming. The first part of Chapter 5 is called, “A promised ruler from Bethlehem,” in my NIV Bible.
I love what verse 4 says, “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.” NIV
Such a beautiful word picture to start a beautiful, Fall week.
And He will be their peace …
That’s what I’ll think about today.
Filed under Micah, Old Testament, Peace, Worry
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. NIV
We get our hearts broken.
Mostly because, I think, we have dreams or plans that don’t work out the way we have envisioned them.
Yesterday, the pastor spoke on Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart, a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” NIV He gave multiple examples of plans that he had made that did not work out as he had hoped. He repeatedly said, “but the Lord” had different plans.
It strikes me that this condition is inevitable. Human beings were created by God with the ability to dream, to plan, to envision the future … but, we have not been given the ability to control it. Hence, our hearts get broken. The boy asks another girl to the dance, the college acceptance letter doesn’t come, the fairy tale wedding doesn’t lead to happily ever after, someone dies too young.
Our hearts get broken.
God knows this is inevitable. He created the heart with all its complexities. And, He left this verse here for us to find: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. What a blessing that is! When my heart is broken and my spirit is crushed and I feel I’ve been treated unfairly and when I’m worried sick about what will happen next … or won’t happen next, God is there.
The verse says more than that … He “saves those who are crushed in spirit.” What an encouragement!
One of my dearest friends shared a quote with me recently from Charles Stanley. I wrote it out on a piece of paper and placed it where I can see it easily each day … “Disappointment is inevitable, discouragement is a choice.”
Christ came to bind up the brokenhearted. Having lived as a human, he knows the pain of betrayal, of losing a friend, of facing life-threatening circumstances. Christ understands what it means to have a broken heart, and, through His loving example, He points the way home to our Holy Father.
The Message translates this verse, “If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.” MSG
That’s what I’ll think about today.
Filed under Old Testament, Peace, Psalms, Trust, Worry
Psalm 27:5
For in the day of trouble, he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. NIV
This morning, as I was reading Psalm 34, it occurred to me that I had spent some time looking for the phrase, “lose heart,” as a synonym for worry, but, I had not spent any time looking for “take heart,” which would be its corresponding encouragement. Instead of going to the verb, “take” in my NIV concordance, I started with “heart.”
While I didn’t find any “take hearts,” beyond one that I already had catalogued, I stopped in Psalm 27, where the concordance said, “my heart will not fear.” When I flipped to his verse in my Project Bible, I saw that this was a reminder (Psalm 27:3) that I already had found. But as I read on in the chapter, I found this verse.
As I read it in the NIV, it seemed so comforting to me — he will keep me safe, he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle.
My safety and security are not found in this world, but in my relationship to God.
When I looked at the way The Message translates this verse, I was amazed: “That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.” MSG
For the last several days, my family and I have been consumed by the buzz of traffic. I especially have allowed the buzz of traffic to distract me and upset me.
Our Father hears our prayers. He knows and understands what distresses us, and He wants to relieve those worries … whatever they may be.
When I go to the preceding verse in The Message, it says, “I’m asking God for one thing, only one thing: to live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty, I’ll study at his feet.” MSG
That’s my prayer today.
Filed under Old Testament, Peace, Psalms, Trust, Worry
Lamentations 3:57
You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” NIV
This is such a beautiful, beautiful verse. The intimacy of the relationship between the writer and God is striking.
Throughout this project, I’ve seen a pattern clearly mapped out. If we will call out to God in our times of trouble, if we will take our worries to Him and trust that He will solve them, we won’t have to struggle with them any longer.
He may not — in fact, in my case, He probably will not — resolve the issue in the way that I think is best. But, I am not God — for very good reasons.
Times of trouble in our lives can serve to draw us closer to Him. He wants that … He wants us to turn to Him as the first resort, not the last … to cry out so that He can come near and comfort us. The Message translates the last phrase of this verse, “It’s going to be all right.”
It is.
That’s what I’ll think about today.
Filed under Fear, Lamentations, Old Testament, Peace, Worry
Jeremiah 46:27
“Do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, O Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will agin have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.” NIV
This is so interesting! This verse is 16 chapters later in Jeremiah than the one I looked at yesterday. Yet, the verses are almost completely identical.
I have a dear friend who talks about “God’s echo.” Her theory is that if you hear the same thing multiple times from Godly sources, God is trying to tell you something … like if you read a verse during your quiet time, and then the pastor serendipitously preaches on the same topic, you can be certain that there is something there that you are supposed to hear.
So, this concept is important. It was definitely important to Israel.
This morning, I also looked at it in The Message, which says, “But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear. Israel, there’s not need to worry. Look up! I’ll save you from that far country. I’ll get your children out of the land of exile. Things are going to be normal agin for Jacob, safe and secure, smooth sailing.” MSG
I love the phrase, “Look up!”
Sometimes, we have to get so stomped down by the world that the only place we have to look is up … that’s when God can step in and really make a difference.
Today, I’ll think more about these verses and the message that they hold for me.
Jeremiah 30:10
“So do not fear, O Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed O Israel,” declares the Lord. “I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no-one will make him afraid.” NIV
After a break of a few weeks, I’ve gone back to the “fear not” list in my King James concordance to look for synonyms for worry.
This verse, the next on the list, is part of a long passage God instructed Jeremiah to write down. The chapter is called “Restoration of Israel.”
This is a powerful promise. In this case, Israel’s exile was real, and God’s promise of eventual peace and security must have been a great comfort.
Often, worries put us in a kind of exile. That’s one of the reasons that it is such an effective tool to render us ineffective. If I allow myself to worry, I’ve found that it will not be about just one thing … I’ll worry about that one thing and then, my thoughts and my energy will be gradually absorbed by a series of “and what if” questions.
Last year, I did Beth Moore’s study on Esther. She taught a lot of amazing truths in that study, but the one that stands out for me is this: What IF is an acronym — What I Fear.
The truth is, there is no “what if” question that I cannot answer with “God will be there.” That has been a real help to me.
A few days ago, I read a post on if/then thinking (http://blog.behnke.us/2010/07/26/67/).
The author compared it to computer programming, which really hit home for me. That insight has been extremely helpful and has allowed me to keep this concept top of mind.
“If what, then God.”
If I can live my life with this lens firmly in place, I, too, will be saved from exile. And, I’ll have peace and security. I won’t be worried or afraid.
That’s what I’ll think about today.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. NIV
What a beautiful prescription for peace.
If I am meditating on the truth and on all the good things that come from God, there is no room in my mind for the distraction of worry.
I love the way The Message translates these verses. “Summing it all up friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious — the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” MSG
Filed under New Testament, Peace, Philippians
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal. NIV
There is a praise song that I really like that I hear a lot and am called to sing these days. I don’t know the name of it, and it doesn’t really have a chorus … it is sort of a long statement about the benefits of living with Christ. But, in the middle of it are inserted the words and tune of a song I’ve known, it seems, all my life: “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
I sang that song last weekend with a group of friends at a conference. When I got to the solid rock part, I got a mental picture, so vivid, and one that I don’t remember having before. I saw the rock and sand shifting all around it, and the ocean roiling around it, too. Everything around the rock was chaotic motion, but, the rock was unmoved.
When I found this verse yesterday, I was again reminded of that image. I love the promise of this verse. God will keep my mind in perfect peace because I trust in Him. I think that the use of the word “because” is purposeful here. The verse doesn’t say “if,” it says “because.” I must trust in the Lord forever, for He is the rock eternal. On that immovable rock is where I have built my life. I must balance on that rock with my belief and my trust perfectly aligned. And, because I trust Him, He will keep my mind in perfect peace, no matter what swirls around me.
I will think about that today.
Filed under Isaiah, Old Testament, Peace, Trust
365 Days of Peace 