Scotty Smith

The Peace of Christ

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

“‘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.

Let’s Just Pause Right There

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

“Father, free my foolish heart from believing I need the approval of people when you, the thrice holy God of eternity, greatly delights in me” (Scotty Smith).

Let’s just pause right there. Give yourself enough time to let these words soak into your skin and penetrate the very marrow of your bones.

Sometimes you crave the approval of others and chase people’s affections, making a fool of yourself in the process. You spend so much time morphing into what you think everyone else wants you to be that you forget how to be you.

Maybe right now the person whose approval you need most is you.

You’ve been your own harshest critic. Nothing is ever good enough. Even the best moments are rife with mistakes and flaws.

At the end of the day, you can escape from all the others, but you can never run away from you. All those self-deprecating thoughts follow you wherever you go.

Maybe right at this very moment all you need is to remember that your Abba Father delights in you. Not tolerates. Not likes. Not mildly approves. Delights.

If you could combine every romance in history, every tender affection of parent and child, brother and sister, every love between friends, all the love the world has ever known, it would still fall far short of the love that God has for you.

God loves you that much. He delights in you. Even on days when you felt you did absolutely nothing right and royally pissed everyone off and made a jackass of yourself, God still loves you as much as on those rare magical perfect days.

Just pause right there and let everything else go for a little while. It’ll all still be there in a few moments. And so will your Abba Father.