Peace

Storms.

When I was little I was terrified of them, especially if they were at night.  They would blow up and I would huddle in my bed afraid to breathe.  Even pulling the covers over my head didn’t seem to help! As the thunder got louder and the lightning popped brighter, I would tremble beneath the covers until it began to pass.  Only as the storm passed by could I breathe easier and rest.

Life is a lot like that.  Storms come. They blow in like a gale sometimes and almost take our breath away with their suddenness.  The disciples knew all about this kind of fear.  Remember when they were out on the boat and the storm blew up? They were mad at Jesus for sleeping while they trembled for their life! All it took to calm the storm was for Jesus to show up and speak peace over it.

Sometimes life takes our breath away. Things happen that we have no control over.  What we have to remember, however, is that we know the one who controls it all.  Jesus is able to speak peace over any situation we find ourselves.  What keeps us from feeling that peace is us.  Sometimes we prevent Jesus from doing what he does best—taking care of us.  He may not choose to resolve the situation as we would choose, but he always speaks peace over us when we allow him to.

My daddy had a stroke a few months ago after going into the hospital for a fairly minor procedure.  He is diabetic and needed a toe amputated. Several tests later and he needed his entire leg amputated.  Somewhere in the midst of that day, he had a stroke that affected the only good leg he had left as his entire right side was paralyzed.  His speech and swallowing were also affected.  He spent weeks in the hospital and I truly never believed he would come home again. I just knew we would lose him. For a while I fretted and worried and then something marvelous happened. Jesus spoke peace over me.  I suddenly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that whatever happened, Jesus would carry me through it. Whether that meant carrying daddy home to heaven, a convalescent home, or a miraculous healing I knew that we were in the safest place we could be—Jesus’ hands.

Daddy is recovering at home.  Now tell me that God is not a God of second chances and miracles!

I don’t know what storms you are experiencing, but I pray that you are allowing God to speak peace over you.

Blessings!

For Such a Time as This...

The book of Esther has always been one of my favorite stories.  It’s kind of a Cinderella story if you think about it.  A simple, orphaned Jewish girl is raised from anonymity to the heights of the kingdom when she catches the eye of the king.  The problem comes when she hides her background. No one but her uncle knows that she is actually Jewish, and her Uncle Mordecai wants something BIG from Esther.  There’s a bad guy in the story and he wants to kill all of the Jews. Mordecai thinks that Esther can get the king to save them all, but if he is wrong then she and all of the Jews will die.

Woo!  That’s a lot to have on one person’s shoulders. Naturally Esther protests that she can’t do it. And then Mordecai says it,  “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:13-14)

For such a time as this.  What a profound phrase.  It resonates with you when you are a Believer. Just this week God smacked me over the head with it not once, but three times.  I prayed with a complete stranger over a sick child--perhaps I was at just the right place for such a  time as this. As I told the story to a group, a friend stood up and said God told her to share those exact words with the group of kids she was working with--maybe we are here for such a time as this. And then today as I had a small pity party for myself a complete stranger walked over to me, handed me a bouquet of flowers, and prayed for me--and God whispered in my ear “for such a time as this.”

There is power in obedience, folks.  When we are obedient to the whisper of the Holy Spirit God is able to use us in magnificent ways for his kingdom.  We may never know why we are in the circumstances we are in, but just maybe it’s so that God can make beauty from ashes.  Just maybe, it’s for such a time as this.