He is our peace

In a New Testament story, a jailer was dismayed when an earthquake happened and all the cell doors were open. He knew that any escaped prisoners would mean his death so was about to kill himself. However, the Apostle Paul stopped him; no one had run out of the prison. At that, the jailed asked, “What must I do to be saved?” and Paul told him about Jesus. The man believed and his fear was replaced by joy.

This passage does not say exactly what Paul told the jailer. However, the simple gospel message is that Jesus died for our sin, was buried, and rose again to offer us forgiveness and eternal life. Another way of saying it is in these two verses:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

For the jailer, being safe motivated him to ask the question about his salvation. Others are motivated by fear of death, or guilt over sin, or a sense of failure and falling short. Some are drawn by the beauty of Jesus Christ, or the way Christians love one another, or for a desire to have inner peace.

The question Christians ask is: “Have you made peace with God?” However, that isn’t quite how it works. We do very little; it is God who has offered us peace with Himself through the saving work of Jesus Christ. This peace is a major part of the gospel package. It is given to all who believe.

These days, people are agitated by fearful events and happenings. I made the mistake last night of looking at the news, then reading several chapters in a well-written murder mystery. I felt wired, mostly by the news. I could dismiss the story as fiction, but the news is real. Praying about it didn’t help. I wanted to ‘do something’ and could not sleep soundly until my thoughts rested on Jesus. As Ephesians 2:14 says, He Himself is my peace.

With many thoughts swirling around in my head, the rest of Ephesians 2 calms my heart. This world is fractured and disjointed. True Christians clash with false teachers. Children are caught in the middle of not only false teaching but the folly of parents who cannot tell them the truth because they are also trapped in the enemies lies. When I read the news, lack of peace is the negative image that highlights every news story. The book I am reading will likely end well, but even fiction can throw a darkness over God’s good news.

Those immersed in falsehood and lies feel the effects, even act out fears and frustrations in terrible ways. Yet, whenever my focus is on the Prince of Peace, I am lifted from that pit, my feet firmly planted on the Rock. God puts me in the company and support of many others who have also been lifted to new life by His good news.

“And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:17–22)

The difference is that peace. It starts as a gift along with faith and new life. This is the grace of God — not from good works. Peace with God is a position, a standing with God, a reality for those who believe. Nothing can take away that reality, yet negative circumstances will threaten our feelings of peace. When that happens, God says:

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4–7)

This ‘peace with God’ is a state of being, a reality regardless of my feelings. However, God also gives me this ‘peace of God’ — an emotion, a sense of well-being that fills and guards my heart, even when it makes no sense at all to be at peace. By grace, I know that God is in control; His seal on my faith is His peace.

^^^^^^^

Jesus, my citizenship is built on the peace I have with You. This peace also enhances my joyous fellowship with other Christians and creates a unity that goes beyond our differences. Your peace goes well beyond the realities of the news, the mess in the world from political situations, conflict, and tragedies. While those things drive me to prayer, the peace of God allows me to praise You and rest in You. Jesus, You are my peace. Amen!

Fear Not

The Old Testament narrative relates how the nation of Israel was many times under a threat. They were fearful and dismayed by their enemies and felt powerless before them. 
 

I felt like that yesterday, at least for part of it. My enemy is not external, but rather this physical condition that cannot be fixed. My heart felt like a stone inside me and I was overwhelmed by the realization that I could feel like this the rest of my days. I nearly forgot that the Lord promises to take care of me, to be my strength in weakness. While I remembered the first part of Psalm 73:26 — “My flesh and my heart may fail” — I did not remember the second part, “but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Yet God does not forget His promises even though I do. As I prayed, He put the thought in my head to ask for strength for just one day. In a short time, the heaviness was gone and I felt normal again, the first time in many weeks. This lasted all day, even through the night. When I woke this morning, I again asked the same thing — strength for just this one day.

This morning’s devotional reading took me to a description of God’s response to one of those times Israel was cowering before their enemies. He reminded them of His role in their lives.

But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” (Isaiah 41:8–13)

Many times when I pray for things that seem impossible, I remind God and myself that nothing is impossible for Him. He can reach into the darkest life, bring life and blessing to those who seem so far into trouble that nothing can get them out. I have seen His answers and rejoiced in the power of God for others. Yet like many who pray for great things, my mind is not on my own needs. Perhaps this is why the next verse from the devotional reading feels a bit like a smack on the side of the head, even though God, who says I am His friend, is wrapping me in a warm embrace.

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14)

Spurgeon authored the reading that goes with this verse. Here is a paraphrase of what he said.

O my soul, is not this enough? Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the triune God? Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father? More love than displays itself in the Son? Or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Holy Spirit? Bring near your empty pitcher and surely this well will fill it. Hurry and gather up your wants, and bring them here —your emptiness, your sorrows, your needs. Look, this river of God is full for your supply. What can you desire besides that? Then go forth, my soul in this your might. The eternal God is your helper!

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God, You humble me almost to the point of humiliation. I know that the future can hold days of terrible weakness and physical disability, but You bid me to not fret about tomorrow. Instead, I am to rely on You for this day, one day at a time, even moment by moment, for nothing is too hard for You. Again, You prove Yourself faithful and true to Your Word. I am a worm with fear and a bad memory. You are God who is able to remind me of what I need to know, when I need to know it, a God who tells me, “Fear not, I am the One who helps you.”

Groundless fear

While fear of public speaking is touted as up at the top of the list of common fears, some surveys say otherwise. One questionnaire said only 10% put it at number 1 or 2, 20% put it in the top ten, and 70% said it was not even on their list.

While looking for this information, I found another list of the top psychological fears. It included common responses to those fears, such as the fear of rejection which, according to this source, causes a person to reject others first, be depressed and suffer from self-pity.

Also on this list were the fears of abandonment, ridicule, loneliness, success, and failure, each with their resulting behaviors which were varying combinations of fight or flight as a way to cope with the fear.

In the Bible, the people of God are continually told to not be afraid. The list mostly includes physical enemies and other threats to safety and well-being. One such admonition came during the days of the prophet Isaiah. Ahaz, king of Judah, faced a crisis. The Assyrian army threatened invasion. Ahaz refused an alliance with the kings of Israel and Syria against Assyria, so they also threatened to invade Judah. Then Ahaz allied with Assyria to protect himself against the threat from the two other nations. Isaiah warned Ahaz against that alliance, but also told him not to fear.

“Do not say, ‘A conspiracy,’ concerning all that this people call a conspiracy, nor be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled. The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” (Isaiah 8:12-13)

All this makes me sit back and think about what I fear. After a long weekend of driving and sitting, one of my fears is boredom and inactivity. That might seem silly, but my mind hates being in neutral and I dread being useless. I struggle in bland situations without anything to stimulate my thinking. I am a doodler. I prefer talk shows to music. I buy books, borrow books, fill my shelves with reading material from almost every genre, just so my mind has something to do. My body is not far behind. I keep busy and am seldom bored, by choice.

On one leg of the driving this weekend, my husband and I talked about this. At one point I said that for most of my Christian life I’ve feared that God would put me on the shelf and I would be of no service to Him. I can have a measure of control over occupying my mind, but I cannot control God. Being able to serve Him is entirely in His hands.

Reviewing this morning, I realize that many things people fear can be controlled. If someone is terrified of public speaking, they can say no to such opportunities. Even some of the psychological fears can be overcome by naming them and tackling them head on.

However, some threats are out of our control. We cannot stop death, no matter how many face lifts, cosmetics and other things we try. Yet the fear of death can be conquered by faith in Jesus Christ. He beat death and offers eternal life to all who trust Him. I might fear the process of dying, but not death. I know where I am going.

I’ve also found that taking that first step of faith in Jesus Christ is the precursor to overcoming other fears. As the Bible says, “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Psalm 118:6)

I trust that God cares for me and He can control what happens to me. Yet faith in the sovereignty of God means that God can do what He wants to me, and I cannot predict or control that. I know that this Lion of Judah is a good God, but as the critter says in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, He is not a tame Lion. I do not manage Him.

Does that make my fear of being useless an irrational fear? John Piper points to 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

His point is that no matter how little I might value my ministry and work for the Lord, God uses it. It is not in vain. The implication is that no matter the fear, keep on doing what seems the thing to do. Seek out needy people to help. They are not far away. Seek out those in darkness who need light. They are not far away either. Seek out ways that I can be helpful. It might be the work of prayer only, but as this verse says that work is not in vain.

Like public speaking, I can see a choice here. If I want to stop being useful to God, all I need to do is stop obeying Him. It might seem like He has stopped giving me work to do, but reality says otherwise. It is never God who gives up on me. He will use anything and everything that I do for His purposes.

Because the needs are always there, the challenges of serving Him are always there too. They might seem difficult, unappealing, or downright frightening, but being useless is my choice, not His. I’ve far more reason to fear Him if I refuse the challenges than I have reason to fear that He will stop offering them.

When I get impatient . . .

Skeptics say that they only believe what they can see. They want a visible God. Christians sometimes fall into this too; if I’d lived during Bible times and seen all those miracles, believing in God would be easier.

This morning I’m reading Exodus 32. It begins, “Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, ‘Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’”

These people had seen the plagues including deliverance from death through putting blood on their doorposts, deliverance from Pharaoh and his army by the parting of the sea, and more recently the fire of God’s presence on the mountain where Moses had gone to receive the Law. It was a time of great revelation, a time where not too long before they had fallen on their faces and swore allegiance to the LORD their God.

But as they waited for Moses, they became impatient or perhaps overcome by panic. Moses had been up on that mountain for what seemed like forever, and instead of trusting the Lord who had already led them this far, they wanted a god they could see.

Aaron went along with their request. He gathered their gold, which was supposed to be used for their tabernacle, and made them a calf. This image was a pagan religious symbol of virile power and by honoring it as their god, they fell into pagan idolatry and broke the first three commandments of the Law.

One of my commentaries says that whenever God’s people panic or become impatient, a slide into pagan practices can quickly follow. This is the way of our sinful human hearts. Instead of waiting for the Lord, we revert to what ‘everyone else’ is doing.

I’m thinking about the times that I panic or become impatient. What are the ‘pagan practices’ of today’s world? I suppose they include taking charge, forcing issues, getting even (if someone is being hurt), and all sorts of manipulations to assuage fears or to make things happen, to bring to pass whatever is desired.

The Bible tells me to wait on the Lord. If I am tired, He will renew my strength. If I am heavily burdened, He will share the yoke. If the trials are intended to perfect me, He will establish, strengthen and settle me in His time. He calls me to faithful endurance, trusting Him with my very life if need be.

As I think about all that God had done for His people in Exodus, I marvel at how quickly they fell. They could not wait a mere forty days to hear back from Moses before they reverted to idolatry. It seems so idiotic.

Then I think about myself and waiting. I know that patience is not just about spiritual things. It is a trait that shows up in every area of life, such as waiting in a checkout line this busy Christmas season. How patient am I? Am I pushy, or crabby? Do I try to hurry things, or at least make the clerks feel bad for not going faster? And what about the people who don’t know the Lord? How do they handle their impatience in long lineups, or on the freeway? Do I do the same things?

I also think about this idea of wanting a god that I can see. I may not build a golden calf, but how many times have I prayed and not seen or heard anything for forty minutes, or forty hours, or forty days? Some things I’ve prayed about are coming up forty years and my heart cries out, “I want to see You, Lord. I want to see You in action. Do something I can see.”

God wanted Aaron and the people to wait for Moses. Instead they forgot all about the past faithfulness of their God who had led them this far. They put their deliverance on Moses instead of glorifying the One who had delivered them, and when Moses didn’t show up as soon as they wanted him to appear, they made an idol they could put in front of themselves as their god. By being impatient and taking things into their own hands, they found out the hard way the folly of insisting on worshiping something they could see.

I need to be careful when I come before God. While I long to see Him, even see Him in action, if I insist on making it happen (‘it’ being whatever I want), then I’m apt to fall into the same error as the Israelites. Instead of trusting Almighty God who made and sovereignly rules the entire universe, I’ll wind up acting as if my god is only a calf made out of trinkets.