My body had fought long and hard against an invisible assailant. Invisible, yet identifiable. That virus had left long-term marks on my skin, my heart and my days.
As the days grew into weeks, I wanted only to feel all better.
No racing heart.
No fuzzy memory.
No more anguish of body and soul.
I was tired of the warring within me.
God, please, please, let me be in peace.
How to be at peace? The Bible offers a surprising array of instructions on just how to have peace.
Live in the Spirit
Romans 8:6 instructs us to live in the Spirit. We need to fix our mind on the things of God. Lovely things, found in Philippians 4:8-9. We need to read His Word, the Bible, in order to know Him and draw closer to Him. When we catch ourselves focused on the world and the worries the world invokes, we must pray for Him to gently remind us we need to turn our attention back to Him.
Trust Him
Isaiah 26:3 encourages us to trust Him. Trusting means expecting Him to always show up and handle whatever, well. When we trust Him, we can not-like a situation but trust He has it and wait to see His way of dealing with it.
Relinquish All
Isaiah 26:12 challenges us to relinquish all to Him when we trust Him. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that “In their hearts humans plan their course but the Lord established their steps.” We need to let Him author that to-do list. Allow Him to guide us in decision-making. After all, He is God: all-knowing, all-powerful, Almighty God.
He knows.
He cares.
He wants to help.
But He’s awaiting an invitation. He’s a gentleman, He won’t force anything on us.
Maybe in a state of discouragement, the words of Job can propel us to try these steps toward finding peace. “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” Job 42: 2.
I eventually found peace, long before a full physical recovery was made. Realizing Job had a much more powerful reason for losing his peace than I, I realized he also demonstrated how to find peace:
He lived in the Spirit,
He trusted God,
And he relinquished all to Him.
I too, found those worked.
I learned God can indeed do anything. He can be trusted to keep His word. He can help keep us accountable to living in the spirit, trusting and relinquishing to Him. Will you join me in asking for His help to do just that?
Prayer: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your gifts. Thank You for helping me to live in the Spirit, for helping me learn to trust You, to relinquish to You. May I learn to let You lead, lead me into a life of peace through hard things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.