Wednesday, June 12, 2013

June - I Claim a Month of God's Peace

Well, with a new month comes a new aspect of God's Spirit fruit for me to focus on.  This month I'm up to peace.  As is so often the case, it comes at just the right time.  God is so good in all that he has planned for me and he knows that this month I will need his peace.  Two things happened right at the beginning of this month.  First, everyone in my family got sick.  Not with a terrible 24 hour flu (although I did have that added into the mix for just me), but with a cold that is strong enough to disrupt lives and won't seem to go away.  People are tired and cranky.  I've blown my own nose AND the noses of my three little ones way too many times to count.  I'm exhausted.  Did I mention we're all cranky?  We are all trying to live life on not enough health and energy and that does not lend itself to a peaceful household.

Second, I started this month off by connecting with our church about the possibility of me coming on staff half time in the children's ministry program.  It is a job I would love.  Tim and I have talked for a couple years now about me going back to work and I've thought through different scenarios, but this is by far the closest we've come to actually stepping into it.  It has moved from the theoretical to the practical.  Is this the right time?  How would we pull it off?  Is it the right job?  It is enough to bring knots to the stomach, fear to the heart, and stress to the mind - none of which offer peace.

A couple of days into the month it occurred to me that I should start to focus on the next fruit from Galatians.  I thought for a moment, realized it was peace, and almost laughed out loud.  Yes, LORD, I'm going to need your peace this month, because I've got little to none of my own.  How absolutely perfect!

So my next task was to look for a theme verse for our study here on peace and I was quickly drawn to Phil. 4: 7.

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 6-7 

Do you see the recurring theme?  Peace comes from God and we get it through connecting with him.  Peace is not something I need to work on achieving in my life.  Instead I need to cast all my cares upon God and His Spirit will provide the peace.

Let me share with you three thoughts I've been pondering about these two verses:

*Pray about everything.  Notice that the verse mentions both telling God what you need and thanking him for what he's done.  Chaos seems to me to be one opposite of peace.  When I pray out of chaos it seems easy to tell God what I need.  God, I'm fighting with so and so.  God, I'm nervous about this.  God, this is just not going the way I hoped.  But thanking him doesn't come to mind as easily.  However, I think that it is a vital part of opening up our lives for God's peace.  Thanking God reminds us of times he has already proven faithful.  It opens our eyes to the good currently in our lives.  Basically it takes the focus off of us and our troubles and shifts it to God and his goodness.  And that in and of itself can help to bring peace.  God is good.  He is bigger than anything in this world.  He has things under control.

*God's peace exceeds understanding.  Peace doesn't make sense in the midst of chaos.  A peace conference is not successful at the height of the conflict.  Giving out "I'm sorry"s and hugs in the middle of a fight doesn't happen.  Being able to relax and sleep well isn't normal during times of stress and decision making.  But God is supernatural.  His peace can pop up anywhere at any time.  His peace can end conflicts and provide rest.

*God's peace guards our hearts and minds.  In my month of sickness and insecurity it is God's peace that guards me.  His peace allows me to rest and heal.  His peace allows me to think clearly.  His peace keeps me from going crazy.

Yes, that is the peace I both need and desire with all my heart right now (and for the rest of my life).