From the Place of Peace

The place of peace is the place of power.  In a world where will live by the rule of "what can go wrong will go wrong" and "what goes right you have to put your shoulder to and push".  We naturally learn the act of striving. Striving is the spiritually useless activity of anxious effort rooted in our own strength. It is not the place of power. 

We in Christ are invited into a special place. “ a green pasture” “ still waters” Psalm 23. It is the place of rest where we are made to lie down and our soul is refreshed. It is a place of peace. And here is the wonder of it all, something we are not used to. It is the place where God brings us things. “He prepares a table in the midst of our adversity”, what a beautiful and powerful picture of what God does when the storm is raging. The table is the place we sit at and rest while he brings us that which we need.  I submit to you it is the place of power. It is the sabbath day rest pictured in Hebrews, it is meant for the here and now. We will never change this world running anxiously along side it. 

James, was just put to death by Herod and Peter was in prison awaiting the same fate.  And here he was chained in the inner cell between two guards while several more stood watch. And what was he doing, “ he was sleeping”, say what!  I don't know about you but sleeping is something that I would find hard to do considering the pending circumstances. Then it occurred to me Peter was able to sleep in prison because he saw Jesus sleeping in the boat while the storm was raging. What an awesome picture of where we are invited to stay in God. Note the place of power,  the prison was shaken the chains fell off and when Peter got to the gate it opened by itself .

I am not against momentum or getting out of the boat, however there is one place our heart should never leave and it is the place of peace. It is that which will bring power and give hope to a tired and weary world ground down with the pursuit of empty temporal things. In Romans Paul ask this question,  “God who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Good question!  Where would you like to reside, green pastures and still waters will always be the place of power that will overcome the circumstances of life and give hope to those buffeted by the storm. We can change the world from the place of peace.

The fruit of trust in peace, take the time now, a green pasture and table prepared await!