That happened to me today... first I read my devotional and I'm pretty sure Jesus wrote this very devotional through Sarah Young to speak directly to me and me only. (Ok, ok maybe others can benefit from it too):
My Peace is the treasure of treasures: the pearl of great price. It is an exquisitely costly gift, both for the Giver and the receiver. I purchased this Peace for you with My blood. You receive this gift by trusting Me in the midst of life's storms. If you have the world's peace- everything going your way- you don't seek My unfathomable Peace. Thank Me when things do not go your way, because spiritual blessings come wrapped in trials. Adverse circumstances are normal in a fallen world. Expect them each day. Rejoice in the face of hardship, for I have overcome the world.
(Matthew 13:46, James 1:2, John 16:33)
(Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)
A couple things really struck me in this... first of all that His Peace is a gift. His Peace was purchased for us. We do not earn our way to His peace.
I also really liked the idea of "the world's peace." I think we often get the world's peace and God's peace confused. Sometimes when things are going really well, it's easy to think that we have God's peace. But it's not until things go wrong, until life's circumstances shake you up a bit that you realize what kind of peace you are really trusting in. I have found myself at various times during various trials saying things like, "well, at least my children are healthy," or "well, at least we have a roof over our head," in an effort to be thankful and realize that other people are going through more difficult things than I might be. While I think it's ok to count our blessings, I actually think that thinking this way is not really Biblical. When I say "at least my children are healthy," I'm actually finding my peace in my children's health instead of in God. I'm saying, "well, this and this part of my life might be really difficult right now, but at least I have this part of my life that is thriving!" The problem is... God doesn't promise that the health or that the "good" part of your life will stay how you consider it to be "good," so it's a completely temporary hope that I'm trusting in when I choose to think that way.
And then I read John 16:33... "In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world." And there came the tears. I'm sorry, but is this verse not SO powerful? Jesus doesn't say, take heart; things will get better. He doesn't say, take heart; at least your children are healthy. He doesn't say, take heart; more money will make things easier. He doesn't even say, take heart and look for the good in the situation.
He says, take heart; I have overcome the whole freakin' world. All of it. Like, you literally have nothing to worry about because it's all been taken care of. This is the world. Don't you understand that this is not IT? This is not where you find your peace. This is not where you will spend eternity. This whole life on earth is like a blink of an eye. This is not where you find contentment or joy or hope... you will find it in Heaven and you will find it with ME. All things will be made new... including yourself. And it will all be perfect. You just don't see it in its fullness yet. You see some of my glory and some of my goodness, but not all of it. Not yet.
I'm sorry, but THIS is true hope and true peace. We so desperately want to find this kind of peace here on earth so we try to look for an earthly silver lining in difficult situations. Sometimes there is a silver lining (I am not a complete Debbie Downer, regardless of what some of you might be thinking). Sometimes God turns things around and chooses to display His power in that situation. And we should praise HIM for that. But sometimes there is no "earthly" silver lining. Sometimes things are just bad and difficult and hard. And we have to understand that that is really how it is. There is not always another job waiting at the end of the first one. There is not always a change in the people that we so desperately need to change. There is not always good medical news on the other side of a bad diagnosis. Although He will still glorify Himself in the hard things, there is not always that silver lining on this side of Heaven to place our hope in. Sometimes, our Pollyanna attitudes just don't do the trick.
And you know why I can say all of this without feeling like the slightest bit of a Debbie Downer? Because it is TRUE. It's TRUTH. God tells us that we will face trials and tribulations on earth. And so we expect them. We do not pretend like they are easy. We do not pretend like we're not questioning God's plan. And we do not place our hope in false promises or even in the "good" things we have on earth.
But we do place our hope in HIM. We remember that He has overcome the world. The whole freakin' world.
And sometimes, like at 1:08 pm, we find such PEACE in that truth, that we are overcome with tears of joy.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. -James 1:2
