peace

The Quiet Assurance of Joy

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Every day, there’s a new batch of chaos somewhere in the world. If you’re looking to be cheered up, you probably want to skip Fox News or CNN right about now. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and live in a constant state of fear and anxiety.

But the followers of Jesus are different. Or they should be. We’ve read the last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible, and we know how the story ends. We know it’s going to be alright (to reference the late Rev. Billy Graham).

The media and advertising and basically every message screaming at you from every screen is trying to keep you in a state of near panic in order to get you to buy a certain product or vote for a certain person. But Jesus promised peace to His people. He said it was a peace unlike the world gives, which is a warm and fuzzy feeling, but His is more of a calm certainty that while the middle of the story looks grim, there is a happy ending coming.

Sure, there will be wars and rumors of war. Nations will still rise up against other nations. There will be riots and violence and scandals. Many people who profess to follow Jesus will fall away. But for those who truly belong to Jesus, we are held fast by the everlasting arms that won’t let us go.

Maybe tonight turn off the television and put away the device and open up your Bible. Turn it to Revelation 22 and read the last chapter, but especially the last two verses. It’s an invitation. Yes, bad times are coming, but they won’t last. Suffering will end. Even death will pass away. But these words of God will remain, and the one who spoke them will wipe away every tear from our eyes and welcome us home into everlasting peace.

No Fear

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“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else” (Oswald Chambers).

That was a hip slogan back a few years, I think. No fear. I think it needs to make a comeback.

These days, fear is used as the supreme motivator when it comes to politics and marketing and just about everything else under the sun. It seems like so many are still living under the fear of 2020 and the pandemic.

Another saying that I like better from back in the day went like this: “No Jesus, know fear. Know Jesus, no fear.”

It might be a tad simplistic, but the general idea is good. To know Jesus as the Prince of Peace is to be free from a life dominated by fear and anxiety. I don’t think any believer ever is completely free of fear this side of heaven, but he or she is not a slave to it any longer.

I also recall an acronym used by a black preacher that I have always loved. He said that F-E-A-R stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. Nearly all of fear is based on a lie. Nearly all the lies based on fear tell you that either God is not there or He doesn’t care. Fear says that you have to figure it out and solve it all yourself because there is no one else. Fear isolates.

But Jesus calls us to the Father and to one another. Peace comes when we are right with God and right with each other. Peace doesn’t come when you feel super relaxed and calm. Peace comes when even in the midst of feeling afraid you also have certainty of hope at the center of your core.

There’s an old chorus that came to mind when I was typing out these words. I can’t for the life of me find it anywhere, but I think the words are along these lines:

“There is no fear in Jesus Christ
And by his grace we’re made new
And it’s the cross that reminds us
That in him no fear.”

Anyone who remembers this, if you can reply with the correct lyrics (or better yet, the worship artist), I would so greatly appreciate it.

Wise Words from Amy Carmichael

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One of my favorite authors growing up was a lady named Amy Carmichael. She served as a missionary to India for over 50 years and wrote quite a bit on the topic of suffering patiently under the hand of God. Some of her books include Gold by Moonlight, Edges of His Ways, and If. Most people who are familiar with her and her writings probably know her from the fact that she was a hero of Elisabeth Elliott’s. Here is a sample of what made her so great. It’s one of my favorite quotes of hers:

“Let us end on a very simple note: Let us listen to simple words; our Lord speak simply: ‘Trust Me, My child,’ He says. ‘Trust Me with a humbler heart and a fuller abandon to My will than ever thou didst before. Trust Me to pour My love through thee, as minute succeeds minute. And if thou shouldst be conscious of anything hindering that flow, do not hurt My love by going away from Me in discouragement, for nothing can hurt so much as that. Draw all the closer to Me; come, flee unto Me to hide thee, even from thyself. Tell Me about the trouble. Trust Me to turn My hand upon thee and thoroughly to remove the boulder that has choked they river-bed, and take away all the sand that has silted up the channel. I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will perfect that which concerneth thee. Fear thou not, O child of My love; fear not.’

And now…to gather all in one page:

Beloved, let us love.

Lord, what is love?

Love is that which inspired My life, and led Me to My Cross, and held Me on My Cross. Love is that which will make it thy joy to lay down thy life for thy brethren.

Lord, evermore give me this love.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after love, for they shall be filled” (Amy Carmichael).

Those Two Little Words

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If I were to quote a passage, do you think you’d catch it if I left something out? Like this:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7, Legacy Standard Bible).

Did you notice anything missing? Now let me quote the verse with the missing part put back in:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:4-7, Legacy Standard Bible, emphasis added.

I added the bold to make it obvious. Two little words “with thanksgiving” were missing from the first quotation. But that’s what is missing in a lot of our prayers and petitions. At least I can speak for myself and say that I go through a lot of requests in my prayers without ever giving thanks. But I think that’s the key.

I’m not saying that a few magical phrases will automatically make God grant you everything you ask for. But I wonder if sometimes if the gratitude part is what keeps us from seeing God at work in our petitions. Maybe the giving thanks part is like praying in faith believing you have already received what you ask for.

The answer may not always look like what you expect. But you can be sure that God honors His promises to give us what we ask when in faith with thanksgiving.

And note that it does not say that we’re ever to give thanks FOR everything but IN everything. We shouldn’t be thankful for cancer or car wrecks or wildfires. But we can give thanks in the midst of those things because God is working even in those cases for good. Out of those ashes will come something beautiful.

But let us be thankful people, regardless. Even if God did nothing else for us from here until eternity, we’d still have a million reasons for gratitude and thanksgiving. We could still give thanks if for nothing else than salvation and the next breath.

So let’s not leave those two little words out next time. Or, maybe I shouldn’t leave out those two little words next time.

The Story Behind the Song

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I always love reading about classic hymns and carols and the stories of their inspiration and origins. Hymns like It Is Well with My Soul come out of tragedy and heartbreak, but the message they bring has lived on long after the writers have gone to glory.

The carol I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day has a similar story that I found recently. I’ve copied and pasted it and included the link to the original post:

“On Christmas Day in 1863, the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow listened to the bells from a nearby church, overwhelmed by loss.

Two years earlier, his wife had burned to death in a fire, and he had also been badly burned trying to save her. At times, his grief was so great that he feared that he would be sent to an asylum.

His son had also been wounded in the Civil War and was temporarily paralyzed. As he listened to the church bells, Longfellow wrote a poem that reflected his grief:

‘In despair,’ he wrote, ‘I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said.’

But he ended the poem, which was later put to music, on a note of triumph.

‘Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men’

This Christmas Day will be 161 years….and the song still brings the same sense of settledness and confident hope to millions across the globe!

Do you hear the bells!! Open up your heart and hear them this Christmas!!”

Hold Fast to the Eternal

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“Grant us, Lord, 
not to be anxious about earthly things, 
but to love things heavenly; 
and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, 
to hold fast to those that shall endure; 

through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, 
for ever and ever. 
Amen.”

That’s the worst part about anxiety. We spend so much time obsessing over so many things that won’t last so that we forget about what’s lasting and eternal. We fret over so many temporary circumstances that we lose sight of that Kingdom that lasts forever and can never be shaken.

Most of what I’ve worried about in my life didn’t matter a year later. Sometimes even a month. I can’t remember what I worried about in the past, and if I did, it seems not worth all the effort now. Why can’t I remember that when the temptation to be anxious arises?

My hope is in what will never pass away. Even the worst that can come my way is but a light and momentary affliction compared to the eternal weight of glory that awaits in heaven and seeing Jesus face to face.

Yet I still worry. We all do. It seems to be the human default setting that’s almost impossible to turn off. We’re prone to wander and to worry. It’s what we do. Jesus is prone to forgive us for worrying and to grant us peace that passes understanding if only we’ll ask for it.

Maybe memorizing that first little prayer might help to alleviate some of the anxiety. Better yet memorizing Scripture helps when the fear and worry try to sneak in. Focusing on God in prayer is always an appropriate antidote for anxiety.

Lord, forgive us for fretting. Help us to remember that what matters is what is eternal. You are eternal. Heaven is eternal. Everything else that keeps us awake at night will pass.

The Peace of Christ

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“‘I give you MY peace’ John 14:27. Jesus, thank you for a peace that doesn’t just prepare us to die well, but also to live free. The peace of no condemnation and your full delight. The peace of knowing you’re working in all things for our good” (Scotty Smith).

I’m thankful that the peace of Christ isn’t based on my ideas of what peace should look and feel like.

My idea of peace is no conflict, no discomforts, no pain, no trials. If I had my way, I’d go from ease to ease, from comfort to comfort, and never grow up. Jesus’ way isn’t about making me suffer simply for the sake of suffering, but in my trials and tribulations I can 1) become more like Jesus, and 2) identify with Jesus in His own sufferings (which were way worse than mine will ever be).

Peace isn’t the absence of storms, but being sheltered in the midst of those storms. As the old song says, sometimes Jesus calms the storm, but often He comforts His child in the storm.

Peace is ultimately an inner solitude that nothing from the outside can shake, a confidence of faith that no outside crisis can kill, and a trust that says, “Even if He kills me, I will still keep trusting” (adapted from Job 13:15).

Grant us peace tonight that passes all our human understanding and guards our hearts and leads us to adoration of You, O Lord.

A Prayer for Anxiety

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“Dear God, as I lay me down to sleep, relax the tension of my body; calm the restlessness of my mind; still the thoughts which worry and perplex me. Help me to rest myself and all my problems in your strong and loving arms. Let your Spirit speak to my mind and heart while I am asleep, so that, when I wake up in the morning, I may find that I have received in the night-time, light for my way; strength for my tasks; peace for my worries; forgiveness for my sins. Grant me sleep tonight, and tomorrow power to live” (Author Unknown).

Sometimes, the anxiety just won’t go away. The sad truth is that worry is the default setting for most of us. We don’t how to train ourselves on how to fret — that comes naturally. We do have to discipline and train ourselves in ways to relax and destress.

But we have the promise of the Prince of a peace that passes all understanding. We have Jesus’ invitation for all who are burdened and heavy-laden to come and find rest. We know that God’s truth is more real than anything that we think or feel.

The best news is that any anxiety is temporary but the true peace and joy that comes from God is forever. This light and momentary affliction will soon yield to an eternal weight of glory far beyond anything we endure that brings anxiety. Hope and help are on the way.

Stop the Insanity!

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“Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you . . remember that the lives of others are not your business. They are their business. They are God’s business . . . even your own life is not your business. It also is God’s business. Leave it to God. It is an astonishing thought. It can become a life-transforming thought . . . unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy . . . What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort . . . than being able from time to time to stop that chatter . . . ” (Frederick Buechner, Telling Secrets).

I suspect that this little gem of a quote will hit home with many of you as it did with me.

I quite agree that being able to still the inner dialogue and the endless chatter of human thought to recognize God’s presence and find true peace. Sometimes, that’s easier said than done.

 

Be At Rest

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“God is at work. He does not slumber.
Christ intercedes. He does not fail.
The Spirit comforts. He does not forsake.
Be at rest. Be at peace.
Your name at the end of the day is Beloved” (Ann Voskamp).

You and I can be at rest and have peace, even on those Mondays when our devices aren’t working, when our circumstances don’t cooperate with our plans, and when fear and anxiety seem to have the upper hand in our thoughts.

We can rest because we know that our identity is not what we do but who we are. Or whose we are.

All the diplomas and titles and honors and rewards in the world count for nothing apart from Christ, and nothing is lost if you lose everything and still have Jesus.

That is peace. That is rest.