Who knew there
was so much to know about achieving peace!? Who knew there were different kinds
of peace to be had, and we’ve only barely scraped off the frosting from one type
of them? Today, we'll review and highlight 20 ways to experience peace (the rest, peace and prosperity type) in our lives.
As every good student knows (at
least the ones who know how to study for exams and ace them), you need to
encapsulate all of the information you’ve been fed, and then ingest and digest
it. Really well. Not just read it over once or twice, but chew it up, get the
nutrients out of it, and be able to apply it and perfect it. And if you can do
those things, then you know you’ve got the material nailed down.
To begin the review, you write a
brief synopsis of the point, and then you abbreviate that further through a one
or two sentence memory jogger. Following that review, you might highlight one
word and use it to reinforce the information. You formulate and write down
manageable steps to incorporate it into your daily schedule or routine and
practice it over and over and over again. Like a musician, dancer or athlete
you practice, practice, practice! That’s when it really starts taking hold,
developing new brain neuron connections, (honestly!) and changing how you think
and react in life.
Being a teacher, I thought we should
take a rest stop and do some “reviewing” of all of this important peace
material. Reduce it to a more manageable amount and be able to refer to it on a
daily basis so it can transform our lives, so we can experience and rest in this
peace we so desperately desire!
So let’s embark on a review of what
we’ve covered the last eight weeks.
On January 11 we had our “classroom
introduction” to peace, where we learned some “peace and tranquility”
definitions and discovered that often the best place to stand in a storm is
right in the middle of it—in the eye—which is often the calmest part of the
storm.
On January 18, we discussed how
peace just doesn’t show up one day and stick around. We have to pursue it,
hunger for it, look for it. We reminded ourselves that there’s a thief who
likes to steal from us, and he’s all too happy to snag our peace and run off
with it. Most important, even though we are guaranteed trouble in this world,
the freedom we have in our relationship with Christ allows us to walk
hand-in-hand with peace and tranquility, no matter what turmoil swirls around
us. Remember: You are free! Free to love, free to laugh, and free to be at
peace!
Then, in our first stop on our real
journey, we saw how our lives can be robbed of peace when we look upon others’ prosperous
positions with envy, and that the converse can also be true: When someone
envies our prosperity, he might choose to try to make our lives difficult and
rob us of the peace we’re enjoying.
Through the study, we realized that
it is sometimes necessary to remove ourselves from a person or situation in
order to restore or have peace—regardless of how inconvenient that action might
be for us.
Isaac’s story also shows us how we
can be blessed with peace because of a promise God made to someone else, like a
forefather. Through generational promises, we can enjoy peace! (That’s a good
one to remember if you are a parent who wants your children to enjoy peace.)
If we really want peace, Isaac’s
actions also show us that we sometimes need to move on, without standing our
ground and fighting for our rights. We need to deny our ego and “let it go.”
This encounter also taught us about how
humility, thankfulness, and being strong and prosperous affect our peace. We
give credit to God for our prosperity, because He’s the one who should receive
the credit. We don’t apologize for our strength. We’re both humbled by it and
grateful for it. We enjoy the peace surrounding us because of our prosperity
and strength. No false humility here. We are happy!
Our next stop taught us that if we
desire peace then we should be hopeful, prepared, assuring, and forgiving.
Jacob showed us that having a hopeful heart can give you a peaceful heart. His
son Joseph taught us that preparing for the future—even if it looks potentially
disastrous—will cloak our hearts in peace. Just knowing what to expect, even if
it isn’t so rosy-colored, grants our hearts a quiet satisfaction of knowing
we’re prepared. Then Joseph extends peace to his dishonest and vindictive
brothers by giving them a word of assurance, (but only after he sneakily learns
a few things about them first). And he also provides them (and himself) with
peace when he forgives them. Hopeful,
prepared, assuring and forgiving.
February 15 found us learning the peace
benefits of being respectful, wise, and following our God-ordained path.
After God calls Moses, and gives him
the mind-boggling undertaking of returning to Egypt, confronting Pharaoh, and
leading the Israelites out of Egypt, Moses approaches his father-in-law,
Jethro, (who is also his employer), and humbly, respectfully asks for his
blessing of peace to leave. In return for that respect, his father-in-law
extends Moses the peace he seeks.
Then Jethro teaches Moses how to have
peace in his life and help others to enjoy peace, too, through wisdom. In this
case, good organization and legal hierarchy. We learned that wise delegating
can bring peace to everyone—us and others. Taking sound advice can bring us
peace.
Our lesson also reminded us that
following our God-ordained path—heeding His words and following His life
instructions—allows us to enjoy peace. In our sin and trouble-riddled world,
that may just be the peace and joy we have in our hearts from knowing we are
following Him and doing the right thing.
Be
respectful, be wise, and follow your God-ordained path!
Numbers 6:24-26 directed us to the
“priestly blessing,” where we encountered the Trinity—Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. A simple, beautiful picture of God’s love and desire to bless us, to
look and smile upon us, and grant us the favor of a life of rest, prosperity, and happiness. It’s a reminder of the total security we have as children
of God.
And how do we receive this blessing?
We focus our hearts on Him, set them in order in preparation to receive the
blessing! Prepare yourself to be blessed!
Numbers 25:10-13 showed us how being zealous
(having strong, energetic support) for God, and demonstrating it, stopped a
sin-provoked, national plague, and brought generational blessings to a man
named Phinehas and his family. There is a reason Jesus tells the church in
Laodicea that he’s going to spit (actually, he says vomit) them out his mouth. Because
they had convinced themselves that they were rich and had everything they
needed, their hearts had grown lukewarm for Him. They had lost their zeal and
passion. Like the putrid water in Laodicea, they nauseated Him.
I know we’re in the review phase,
but I’m going to interject a hard question here: Would you want Jesus thinking
or saying that about you? Examine your heart and faith in Him. Have you lost
your zeal? Are you lukewarm toward Him? Do you demonstrate your zeal for Him?
If you feel as though you have lost
that zeal, do some serious soul searching and praying to find out why, and then ask God to restore unto you the joy of your salvation. And then be zealous for God and expect rest, peace and prosperity to
follow!
Then Numbers 23:5-6 gave clear
instructions for not expending your energy on pursuing your enemy’s peace and
prosperity, and the reasons why you should not. And this only makes sense.
While you are called, as a Christ-follower, to pray for your enemies and
forgive them, I don’t find in Scripture where Jesus instructs us to expend energy working for our enemy’s
prosperity and peace.
I can hear you yelling at me through
your computer screen: “Now wait a minute, Andrea! Jesus tells us to hand over
our overcoat when someone requests our shirt. And we’re supposed to love our
enemies as we love ourselves!”
Those rebuttals are true. But my
ears also ring with His firm teaching of being shrewd as a serpent (about the
world), and not casting our pearls before swine. Which means there are “swine” in our world, and he’s not
referring to the kind that end up on your breakfast table! What he specifically
says is even rougher than that: “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast
your pearls before swine,” And then He gives the reason for it: “lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”
Wow! And, ouch! So we need to be on
the lookout for “dogs” and “swine.” Clearly, Jesus is not referring here to the
four-legged type. He’s referring to people. He’s telling us that there are
certain people we expend our words, time and energy on; and there are people we
are to love and pray for from afar. Here’s what Dr. J. Vernon McGee says about
it:
“How to meet the people of this
world is the greatest problem facing a child of God.
Every day we rub shoulders with princes and paupers,
gentlemen and scoundrels,
true
and false professors. Some folk need our friendship and help, and we need them,
and we ought to
pull them to our hearts. Others are rascals and will destroy us, and
we need to
push them from us.”
In common vernacular: If you’ve been
kicked in the teeth, you don’t give the offender the
opportunity to kick you in the teeth again.
And be very careful and discerning about who you welcome wholeheartedly
(and naively) into your Christian fellowship!
So let’s break this down further
into points we can write on note cards, print out and post near our work areas,
or write in our journals to be used as frequent reminders for how we pursue,
and experience peace! It’s a great way to remember, and personalize, the most
important points of our lessons!
Do you want to experience peace? Then ~
1. Remove yourself from the storm and
stand in the eye of it.
2. Pursue it, hunger for it, seek it. And
when you’ve got it, fight to hang onto it.
3. Don’t allow yourself to envy someone
else’s prosperity. Doing so steals your peace.
4. Realize that your prosperity may cause
someone to try to rob you of it, and the peace it provides you.
5. Discern when to remove yourself from
an antagonizing situation, even if the removing is inconvenient.
6. Remember that your relationship with
God, and the promises He makes to you, can have generational effects for your
children and grandchildren.
7. Be careful about when, and with whom,
you choose to stand your ground. You may need to just deny your ego and let it
go.
8. Be strong and prosperous. Be thankful
for the blessings of both and the peace they bring to your life.
9. Learn and practice hopefulness.
10. Be as prepared (as you can be) for
the future.
11. Offer words of assurance and peace to
others.
12. Be forgiving. (Offer someone peace
through your forgiveness.)
13. Be respectful of those in authority
over you.
14. Take sound wisdom and apply it to
your life—to bring you and others peace.
15. Follow your God-ordained path. Heed
God’s words and follow His life instructions.
16. Set your heart on the Lord to prepare
yourself to receive His blessing!
17. Be zealous for God. And don’t be
afraid to demonstrate it!
18. Don’t be surprised when arrogant
people reject your peace overtures and start a fight.
19. Don’t expend time and energy pursuing
your antagonist’s peace and prosperity.
20. Put God first, remember His blessings,
and be careful about following your heart.
Next week, we’ll
say goodbye to Moses and venture forth into the Promised Land with Joshua to
see what he learns about Shalom.
Until then, may your week be
full of blessings that you receive and give, your heart be full of joy and
thankfulness, and your days be filled with laughter! Build a little heaven in
your life right now, and watch your heavenly garden grow!
In Christ’s love
and peace,
Andrea
When the eyes of the soul looking
out meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on earth. ~ A. W. Tozer
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