The subject of peace has been on my mind. Throughout my life, I have loved the gifts of grace, and mercy and I sure do love a good redemption story! But many times I overlook one of the greatest weapons Christ gave me and that is peace.
Several verses speak of peace, but since my thoughts are on peace as a weapon of defense I will focus on Ephesians 6:15 “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” And I want to couple that thought with John 14:27 ”Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
The rain falls on the just and the unjust. Everyone receives blessings from Christ whether they are God’s children or not. But God has a special peace that He reserves only for His children. It is a peace that the world has never experienced, the world cannot even comprehend it. Therefore it is a gift that Satan is constantly trying duplicate or to steal from us.
An incident happened recently that had me so worked up I was actually shaking. What made me so angry was that this was not the first time this incident had occurred and I had been trying to take steps to make sure it never happened again but it was out of my control. I found myself ranting and raving and unable to focus on anything but the problem in front of me and the mess it would be to fix.
Then I looked down at my spiritual feet and saw that I was in the middle of a battle with no shoes on! Somehow I had managed to wriggle off my beautiful, designer Gospel of Peace first edition, custom-made for just my feet, combat boots! My feet and my head must be connected because it seemed as if my Helmet of Salvation had gone missing as well.
Then I remembered, (with the nudge of my husband) as I felt my blood pressure surging, that God told me not to be anxious about anything but to take it all to Him. That before Jesus left this earth and ascended into heaven he left me the Holy Spirit and HIS peace!
I quickly dropped to my knees, found both my boots and my helmet, and secured them back in place.
My problem did not go away. It is still going to be a long, messy fix. But my heart knows God will guide me through all the ins and outs of the situation and I don’t need to be worked up while I go through it.
Now to dig just a little…Why did God put peace on our feet? I have been contemplating this a little and I think one reason is that my body goes in the direction of my feet! If I am walking in a direction I don’t want to go, I simply turn my feet towards my desired direction. Sometimes I navigate this world while walking the wrong way, and my whole body feels the weight of that misdirection. But when I remember that Christ has given me His peace and I begin to tap into that presence in my heart, I change direction and find rest and peace even though I am in the middle of the conflict.
When we walk, we make footprints. So if our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, that should be leaving little peace prints wherever we go. People should know that a child of God has been there because of the peace we leave behind.
Preparation of the gospel of peace. That is important. If I am disconnected from the rest of the armor God has given me (Ephesians 6:10-18) I have made it impossible to either receive or give peace. For the battle I am in, every piece is required. Therefore, I need to prepare for peace. I have to know what my battle is, and how I need to fight while simultaneously experiencing peace. I know, peace in the middle of fighting doesn’t equate to the world’s standards, but God doesn’t operate according to the world’s standards. That is why the world cannot comprehend it!
I don’t know what battle I will face when I wake up, but I know who my enemy is, and I know his strategy. It is the same old bag of tricks he uses every time because, though Satan is powerful, he is not very creative, and that makes it easy to cause him to tuck his tail and flee! I know Who my Captain is, and I know the strategy to defeat my enemy, which is found in James 4:7
Submit to God-know what the scriptures say God wants you to do, and DO it!
Resist the devil-recognize what Satan wants you to do and DON’T do it!
Satan will flee.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
So the peace formula is simple for the believer. (simple does NOT mean easy!) Know God’s Word, believe God’s Word, Trust God’s Word-DO God’s Word!
—Receive God’s gift of peace.
Komentar