Perfect Peace

Yes, that is my view in Alabama on the land that Chad and his family have owned for years and there is me without any make-up on for the whole world to see and trust me, I don’t care :-). I am sitting here with my feet up with Kari Jobe’s song “Here” on repeat while my boys are in the woods with their Papa and their Daddy. We are 3 days in out of the 5 that we get to spend in our favorite vacation spot. No phones, no internet, just…nature, quiet, peace. I got to thinking about the picture of perfect peace. The song that I am listening to speaks of breathing in and breathing out. Honestly, I haven’t felt the best this week. But, there are a couple of things I want to point out. As I have been studying the Word this week, I have realized that God has brought me to a couple of places, a couple of steps ahead spiritually in this journey. Steps that are giving me a tremendous amount of hope that we are really close to the breakthrough that we have been in need of for the last 8 years.

1. After having my scans done, and yes I know it’s physical proof, but we know that God told us to do it so seeing that those pictures were clear…I could finally quit holding my breath. God gave us physical proof of what His Word can do when we stand on it. I can breath in and breath out.

2. Romans 5:3-5, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” There is so much in this that I could point out but the main thing is that I really believe God has finally allowed me to get to that place of hope. But before hope could happen, I have been in school learning to persevere, which has been producing character in me that is allowing me to be mature enough to trust God and actually have the hope that He is providing by totally depending on the Holy Spirit as my Helper!!!

Lastly, and this is not a bullet point because we are not there yet. But I was reading in Psalm 107:4-7, “Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle.”

“Where they could SETTLE.” I don’t take this as settling as in never changing or growing. I take this as a place of contentment with God no matter what’s going on. We have been wandering and we have been crying out to God for answers, resolution and I know He is going to lead us to that city where we can settle. Doesn’t settling sound nice? I don’t need all the questions of the world answered, you know where I am coming from. It’s planting roots. It’s finding a place of peace and home no matter if the world is falling apart around you. Don’t you just want to be able to breath in and breath out?

So here’s the picture of perfect peace…Isaiah 26:3-4, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”