Shalom: Peace be Still
A sage is wise through reflection and experience. He is discerning, perceptive and prudent. A sage is a man of experience and wisdom and he has the scars to prove it. As a young man, he’s been through ordeals to understand the meaning of what it means to be a man. His experience as a youth has taught him that the world is a competitive place. As an adult, he has been through many battles and he has been wounded by the world. Although scarred by trials and tribulations, he has surrendered his life to be healed by the Great Physician.
Most men are stuck in woundedness inflicted by the world. Jesus Christ is the one who heals. For healing through Christ, men must come to the end of themselves. A humble and a contrite heart is the requirement to come to the throne of grace.
Men are in search of peace. When Jesus walked out of the garden of Gethsemane, he understood the meaning of perfect peace. When he went there to pray, his heart was unsettled. When we acknowledge that we need God, we can pray with an earnest and fervent heart. Jesus went to the garden distressed to the point of sweating great drops of blood. His prayer was “if there be any other way, let this cup of suffering, separation, and death pass from me.” Three times God told his son, “no.”
Henderson wrote a book, “Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man.” He had a six year old son who needed a bone marrow transplant. They had to take a sample of marrow from his hip bone. His son cried out, “It’s so painful. Daddy, can you make it stop?”
When his dad said no, he could only hold to his daddy’s neck in his pain.
God had to tell his son Jesus, there’s no other way than to drink the cup of suffering. God uses what the world considers a defeat and turns it into victory for his purpose. This is what God did with Joshua before the fall of the walls of Jericho. He did this with Gideon and his small army. God always culls the numbers so that the victory can be in His power alone.
If we grow faint with lesser trials, how shall we endure through the battles. Jeremiah, God’s prophet needed to be tested through trials.
Jesus said to his disciples, let’s get in the boat and go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He was fast asleep when a violent storm came up. The disciples were terrified that their boat would sink. They woke Jesus and he said, “O ye of little faith.” Then Jesus said, “Peace be still.” Immediately the wind and waves ceased and there was a great calm. The disciples said to themselves, “who is this that even the wind and waves obey him?”
The peace of God that passes all understanding is elusive in a world of doubt, worry and fear. The prerequisite to peace is in Philippians 4: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer, and supplication, and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Old Testament says, “Fear thou not for I am with thee: be not dismayed for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you.”
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus left with the peace that passes all understanding. You can’t have peace until you have the Prince of peace. Peace means that our heart is settled before God. Peace is the result of reconciling our will with God’s will. Jesus said, “nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.”
To come to the Lord, we need to “Let go and let God.” We must learn to release our will to God’s will. When we come boldly before the throne of Grace in prayer, sometimes the answer is no. He has our best interest in mind even when we don’t. In Matthew 11 Jesus said, “Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
In the trials of life, God will ask, “no matter the outcome of this trial, will you still honor, love, praise, and serve me? How much control do you have over this situation?” This is the question God asked Pete in the Father’s waiting room when his baby son was in distress. Pete had to answer, “God, you’re in control, not me.” Even though Pete lost his newborn son, through this trial, he came to understand Isaiah 55. God said, “my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. I’m working behind the scenes the way you can’t know now. All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. You’ll just have to trust me.”
For peace in our lives, we have to come to know him. Our prayer must be, “not my will but thine be done.” Is my knowledge of God such that I can trust him through this trial. Those who surrender to God, must come to him through total abandonment and absolute trust. Jesus said, “my 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.”
As a wise sage who has come to know and value the peace of God through experience, the question is “where’s your heart?” Those who have come to know the Lord know that our strength is not in our own power but in the Lord. Thy strength is made perfect in my weakness…thy grace is sufficient for me.
Shalom…peace be with you.
Your Brother in Christ,
Michael