Words of Inspiration BlogInspirational and Uplifting

Whatsoever Things Are Lovely

Philippians 4:6-9 -  Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Dear Friends – Staying in peace in times of turmoil and stress, how hard it is. Settling it in your heart, what you’ve believed and received, is a must in today’s world, and certainly the foundation of a peace-filled existence. Scripture exhorts us to be anxious for nothing. But often we display just the opposite characteristics. I believe that the mind with its constant barrage of questions, concerns, doubts and fears, trips us up quicker than any other storms we may face in life. Staying in peace is both physically and mentally rewarding in that when fear and doubts come we know what we have believed and with our mouth we confess it. It sounds like a simple enough task, a rather menial endeavor, but think again. Staying in peace takes extreme discipline for even the most committed of followers. When the storms are raging in life it’s easy to start to focus on the waves. It’s easy to take our eyes off the Savior and begin to fret. And as the boisterous waves of life’s calamities and hard places continue to pick up strength and speed, it becomes even harder to stand.

But stand we must. Stay in peace at all costs. Run to God at these times and get alone with Him. He knows your heart before you call. He is aware of your needs before the prayer is spoken. But in your time alone with Him pour out your requests and supplications, make them known to Him heart to heart, then thank Him that He’s heard and will answer. How precious that no matter our problems, no matter what troubles us and keeps us on the run, we have a Savior that is ever at our side, looking for fellowship with us, to comfort us and settle us, to establish us in His way.

Yes staying in peace is a precious gift. That is why scripture says it “passeth all understanding”. For we ask ourselves how can we stay in peace in the torrential onslaught of mental and emotional turmoil? How can we stay in peace in the face of physical distress? Can we stay in peace in the midst of financial difficulties, for ourselves, for others? What about wars and rumors of wars? It is possible to truly trust God so much that these things don’t distress us and cause us to fall? Can we trust Him to such a degree that we spend our days looking for ways to comfort and strengthen others rather than worrying unceasingly about our own difficulties. This is the peace which passes understanding. This is the peace we experience through Christ Jesus, knowing He will keep our hearts and minds because they are committed to Him.

It seems impossible at times to stand believing, committed, trusting in Him at all costs, but to experience that peace that passes understanding, I promise you the end result will leave you strengthened, refreshed, encouraged, with a new perspective on your circumstances and the possible outcomes. What good is worrying about so much in life when in reality we can usually change very little? And so much time spent worrying about things that may never even happen can steal the moments we could be living, laughing, helping others, all of which have much more benefit than pacing the floor and wringing our hands in dismay when we have allowed problems or people to overwhelm us and send us reeling out of control.

No, we must not allow ourselves to lose another moment of this precious gift of life so lovingly bestowed on us by our Savior. It may not make sense to some lost in pain and despair. Some may ask how can just staying in peace change the situation or the outcome of such? First of all, it passes understanding, meaning we as mere humans can’t really understand how God can bring peace in troubled times just because we are trusting Him. But this loving Savior does bring peace when we choose to walk in it and above all stay in it. I actually put this to the test in my personal life. First I gave God a week, just baby-steps. In prayer I decided to trust Him with issues in my life that seemed too big to ever be resolved, with people that were difficult, and with situations I had no answers to and felt it had become my lot in life to just suffer through every day rather than walk in victory. One week. That’s how it all started and I can say it was the best decision of my life.

Circumstances may not have changed that much but I changed. My perspective on life changed. The realization of what was important and what was not changed. Trying to justify myself and my feelings changed. For ultimately God forgives us our frailties and failures and expects us in turn to forgive others. Let the sin debt be paid, friends, yours and others with whom you have to do. And those “others”, well they changed too because they saw the glorious work God had done in me. I started with baby-steps and am now experiencing leaps and bounds on my spiritual journey.  And all because I made the quality decision to trust God and stay in peace.

At the end of the first week, I found myself at a crossroads. Would I pick up the old life of worry, anger, fearfulness, or would I go on for another week of staying in peace? It wasn’t a hard decision. I was definitely feeling “lighter”. The old baggage had been tossed aside so I decided another week would be good. At the end of the second week, well I was no longer at a crossroads asking what I should do. No, I knew I was on a bountiful path that could only lead me to beautiful new beginnings. Since this “staying in peace” journey began I have 3 books on amazon.kindle and 3 books on amazon in print. Amazing that what I had been trying to do in my own strength for so many years miraculously turned around because of that baby-step week. I say none of these things would have come my way had I continued in struggling, worrying, unforgiveness, and all that entails. I trusted God and He met me at every need. I trusted God and He gave me a new life, a new purpose, and truly joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Truly, it has passed all understanding. I would not trade the old life with it’s worries, concerns, failures, uncertainties and drama, yes, always drama, for the peace I have found in Christ alone. I’ve been blessed, truly blessed, above and beyond anything I expected at the outset of my little baby-steps. My heart is at rest, my mind is at rest. It was an even more surprising  life-changing event because I’ve always been somewhat of a worrier. Now when thoughts trouble me, when I feel that urge to pick up the old life and take matters into my own hands, I commit it to Him. I commit it to Him knowing He is taking care of all things much better than I ever could. I commit it to Him knowing He is for me and not against me, and that all things are working together for my good. I commit it to Him, take my hands off, walk away in peace, that peace that passes understanding, and focus on the good that I can do, those that I may help in some way, or just relaxing and living the life God has called me to live. It’s gloriously liberating and freeing.

I pray these words of inspiration have encouraged you to stay in peace today, my friends, and begin to live the abundant life Jesus died to give us.

In His Love,

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