Category Archives: Peace

Are Your Feelings Affecting your Focus?

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13.  I remain confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  14.  Wait for the Lord;  be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27: 13-14

Do you believe that scripture? If not, what is it you are focusing on?

When we set our hearts on the goodness of the Lord we carry His presence into every situation. No matter what the circumstances are we must focus on the goodness of the Lord. If we look at our circumstances and ‘give in to our feelings’ we will sink into the circumstance.

David knew he could not let his circumstances dictate his feelings ; he had to keep his eyes on the Lord.  He said, “I would have fainted if I had not expected to see the goodness of the Lord.”  He did not always have a perfect day; his days were actually very hard, so hard that he said he would have fainted if he had pondered on how bad things were.  David discovered how to overcome the bad days; he set his heart and his expectations on seeing the salvation of the Lord. He set his sights high; he set his sights and expectations on the salvation of the Lord. He expected to see God’s deliverance and salvation in each situation he faced.

For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5).

What are you giving into today that is pulling you away from expecting to see the Goodness of the Lord?

Take the Path of Life

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“Show me the path of life…” Psalm 16:11

God knows exactly what is going on in your world.  He has provided everything you need to live during these times; and actually He has provided a way for you to live in peace even during times of trouble.

Find the path of life, the peace of God.  Once you find the path of life, stay there, don’t let your heart be troubled.  Stop allowing yourself stray off the path, lost and fearful.

You have a choice; you simple stay on the path. You have a choice daily; so don’t allow your circumstances to be in charge. You have been given the choice and you can choose peace over fear, anxiety, and stress. You can choose faith over fear; it is that simple. When you choose faith over fear you just choose life instead of death. When you choose peace over anxiety and stress you have again chosen life. The enemy wants to convince you that everything is hopeless, but the God of all peace wants you to know that you have a choice, He says in Deut. 30:15-16, (paraphrased) “Choose life and you shall live.”

It is a choice of life over death, it is that important of a choice. Think about your last doctor’s visit. If you have a heart condition he made it very clear how harmful certain things like too much sugar and salt are to your health. It is hard to keep yourself from eating these things, but, for your health’s sake you can do it. Everyday that you overcome the temptation not to eat those things that are harming your body you feel a difference. You feel stronger and have more energy.

Did you know that worry and fear are more harmful to our body than too much sugar and salt? That is why Jesus said, “Stop allowing yourself to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated, cowardly and unsettled.” I repeat, just stop allowing it; you do have a choice, choose the path of life and walk on it. Choose the peace of Jesus daily and you shall live.

How to Dwell in the Peace of God

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“I will lie down, both in peace and in sleep for You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety”
-Psalm 4:8

As God’s children, we possess a powerful gift that the rest of this world is trying to obtain.  We possess peace.

We can lie down at night after a long, hard day with peace in our hearts knowing that the Lord is going to take care of everything that is troubling us. That is a wonderful gift. Most of this world longs to be rescued from the troubles of life.

Although we can’t escape every problem, as Christians, we can be assured that we serve a God who is big enough to take care of us in every way!

If you know of someone who is constantly allowing the troubles of life to burden them, pray for them. Ask them if you can help carry some of that load for them. We should all desire for others to dwell in the peace and safety that God offers. Without His peace, we are sure to give up. We need the peace of God to be able to conquer life’s difficulties.

How Can I find my Spiritual Identity?

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“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ”  Galatians 4: 6-7

 

Who am I?  What is my purpose in this life?  How can I find meaning and value?

People all over the world struggle with their identity, and what they mean to God.  God created each of us for a purpose and as we yield to Him, He will bring us to the reality of that identity.

God has a place and a purpose for each of us in His kingdom. In order for you to know where your place is, you must discover your identity.

Your spiritual identity is not based on worldly criteria, social status, or education.  You may be very successful in a profession, but still feel something is missing if you have not discovered your spiritual identity.

Healing is essential in discovering our identity. Pain and scars from the past keep us connected to the past and distort the way we perceive ourselves and who we are to God. God speaks to our hearts, telling us who we are, but we can’t clearly hear Him until we are healed.  Pain blocks and distorts our spiritual hearing. Through the healing process we experience restoration, being restored into favor and fellowship with God.

Sin separates us; healing restores us!

In the past several years, I noticed a block in hearing the Lord, especially through dreams. At the time, I could not understand why I wasn’t hearing Him or why I felt somewhat separated from Him. But as I continue down the path of my healing, I am able to hear God speaking to my heart, speaking to me through dreams, and I feel a stronger connection to Him now than I ever have before. It was because of my sin and pain that I was disconnected from God.  Communing with the Father is opening my eyes to how He sees me and showing me who I really am.

In Jeremiah 1:5, we read that God knew Jeremiah before he was in his mother’s womb. God knows you and He is waiting on you to know yourself. He wants you to know yourself as He knows you. The prodigal son is an example of a spiritual son who finally discovered who he was. He didn’t fully embrace his position and inheritance until he went astray and was restored to his family. He had to go through the death of who he thought he was so he could experience life; and the same is true for us today. The prodigal had a ring on his finger and a robe on his back as he sat at the banquet table that was prepared for him. He heard his father say, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” Luke 15:24

I Have a Choice

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“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psalm 1:1

Every day of our life we make hundreds of choices and each of those choices will produce an outcome. For instance: we make a choice what foods we eat in the morning for breakfast; nutritious or unhealthy, we choose whether we will go to work or stay home and watch TV all day, and we choose whether we will ride a bike or a car on the highway to the mall.  In each of these situations we have a choice. If we make the wrong choice; the outcome will be obvious in a short amount of time that we made the wrong choice.

The outcome can look like this: You will run out of energy if you eat an unhealthy breakfast, you will soon loose your job if you don’t go to work, and you may find yourself in the hospital if you choose to ride your bike on the highway.  The outcome tells you quickly if you made the wrong choice.

The same is true in our spiritual life.  David says in the Psalm, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly”. When you take counsel from an ungodly person, you will soon see by the outcome that something is wrong with their counsel. It will be just as obvious as when you keep riding down the highway on a bike. You are in danger when you take counsel from an ungodly person because if they do not know God they do not know His ways.  David said, don’t walk in ungodly counsel. From the moment you hear ungodly counsel you have a choice; will you act upon it and walk down the wrong path, or choose the right path. It boils down to a simple choice, and the choice is yours. Wrong counsel can feel good at the moment, but if the counsel does not line up with the ways of God, the outcome will not be a blessing in the end.

Ask the Lord to show you where you are making wrong choices and listening to the wrong counsel; then pray this simple prayer: Teach me thy way O Lord; I will walk in thy truth… Psalm 86:1. Then you will soon see the blessings of the Lord.

I am Safe During any Storm!

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   “For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock.” –  Psalm 27:5

If tomorrow you have a “day of trouble” can you keep your heart fixed on the goodness of the Lord? When you keep your heart fixed steadfastly on His goodness you are able to weather any storm. You will travel safely though the terrible storm just like Noah was kept safe inside the Ark.

Think for a moment, what if the Holy Spirit quickened to your heart that you must be prepared for a “day of trouble,” what if He said this day is coming soon and you must get prepared. The way to be prepared is in that same verse. David said: “He will hide me in His shelter.” I believe that being hidden in His shelter works in two ways:

  1. As a Christian we are safe and hid in Christ, so we must never give in to fear. (Colossians 3:3) If you are in Christ, you are hidden from the powers of darkness.
  2. We must hide God’s Word inside our heart.  You hide the Word of God in your heart by memorizing it, and meditate upon it.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” -Psalm 46:1.

In a time of trouble He is there.  As you hide God’s Word in your heart your spirit man is prepared to be steadfast, unshakable, and unmovable even through the toughest storm.

How Can I Choose the Right Path?

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“That we may do those good works which God predestined for us…”  Ephesians 2: 10

In life, we often have important decisions to make and wonder – How can I choose the right path?  It’s not always easy to hear the whisper of God, but we do know that he is Ever-present in our lives.  He has made provision for our decisions so that we can know which path to choose.

Predestined means preordained and appointed by God. He has preordained and planned before hand what your purpose is on the earth. He has used the situations in your life up to this very moment to teach you and prepare you for His purpose for your life.

We can’t clearly see what God sees. It is only after we pass through a situation that we see it clearly. Then we can look down from a higher perspective and see what good came out of it, what we learned, and how God will use it. I know how it is to be in the middle of a bad situation, wondering what good could possibly come out of it. At that point we cannot see what God sees. That is why all along the way and in every situation we must learn to listen to His voice. His ways are so much higher than our ways.  He has a plan that we can’t see, so we must listen to His voice and choose the right way, the high way.

I believe God sets up situations just for learning purposes. He wants us to learn from our past mistakes, so we will make better choices and take the right path the next time. Paul said that if we take the path which He planned ahead of time that we will live the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live. That does not mean we will not encounter difficult situations anymore once we learn to walk on the high way.  But it does mean we will always have a clear path to walk on during those difficult times. That’s why we go through hard times so that we learn how to identify God’s ways and God’s path that leads us through the valleys and hardships of life.

Hearing the Voice of God

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“Be still, and know that I am God”  Psalm 46:10

What does the voice of God sound like? It is a distinct sound that we hear with our spiritual ears? Spiritual ears are skilled to hear the voice of the Lord and they attain this skill through seasons of stillness.

A skilled bird watcher has ears that are tuned to hear the sounds of birds. He can walk outside and at once identify various birds. Each bird has a unique and distinct sound that sets that bird apart from all the other birds, but it requires an attained skill to hear them.

As a Christian, we are to be so tuned to hear the voice of our Lord that we hear Him above all the other sounds. In our world today, there are many voices trying to get our attention.  A time of stillness away from all distraction is required to learn how to hear Him.

At the creation, when the Lord said, “Let there be light”, everything changed. When He spoke, He separated darkness and light. His voice is just as strong today and can bring about a complete change in your life. All that is needed are spiritual ears to hear and a heart to obey. If you want change in your life, listen to Him as you read His Word and He will show you what He calls darkness and what He calls light. Listen and obey the still small voice of the Lord if you want things in your life to change.

Searching My Heart

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“Search me Lord and know my heart, try me and know my ways and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

All through Scripture we are encouraged by the Lord to examine our heart.  It is obviously quite important and should be done regularly and prayerfully.

The psalmist David prayed, “Search me Lord and know my heart, try me and know my ways and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

David said, “Any wicked way”, this would be any wicked way of thinking felling or acting. The thoughts of our heart are sometimes hidden from view, but can be clearly seen by our actions and our responses. Psalm 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” You can have the right intentions and want to respond correctly,   but find it very difficult if you have been hurt or offended. That is why the prayer that David prayed in Psalm 139 is so important for us to pray today. The thoughts of our heart determine our decisions, actions and how we respond to others. We need to examine the condition of our heart, especially after we have been hurt or wounded by someone and know we are offended. I believe that taking up offenses is one of the greatest traps of the enemy today.

When you ask, the Holy Spirit will reveal the condition of your heart. Ask Him to reveal every area that is not at peace. Therefore, when you ask the Lord to search your heart, don’t be surprised when the Holy Spirit brings to your attention a relationship conflict that still needs to be resolved. The level of peace clearly indicates how much we have resolved heart issues so that, we are no longer controlled by our circumstances. Peace is the inward witness of the presence God, as He leads us through every situation we face.

If I had Wings…

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“Oh, that I had wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” Psalm 55:6

The stresses of life can be so overwhelming.  I often fall into the discouragement of situations, rather than focus on the One who truly cares for me and is ready to sustain me. 

Bearing the burden of crushing weight actually gives Christians wings. This may sound like a contradiction in terms, but it is a blessed truth. While enduring a severe trial, David cried, “Oh, that I had wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” Yet before he finished his meditation, he seems to have realized that his wish for wings was attainable, for then he said, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you” (Ps. 55:22).

Life of a burden bearer

The word “burden” is described in my Bible commentary as being “what Jehovah has given you.” The saints’ burdens are God-given, leading us to wait upon Him. And once we have done so, the burden is transformed into a pair of wings through the miracle of trust, and the one who was weighted down “will soar on wings like eagles” (Isa. 40:31).