Peace of God wins!

Ever been disturbed by circumstances?  Ya, me neither.

Ha HA Ha HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.




I'm at a place right now where I sense the Lord doing His thang (insert heavy Texas accent here!) all around me.  While I am super duper excited b/c I know that I know that I know that whatever He is doing is better than my funkiest technicolor dreams, I am sometimes overtaken by my flesh that really finds satisfaction in the complete and utter freak attack.  Been there, yes?


And then there's the whole "be joyful" command.
And it's not
"be joyful when everything is hunky dory"
or
"be joyful when you have enough money in the bank"
or
"be joyful when you've got everything under control."
No, it's


"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect, result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."  James 1:2


I've never really been an endurance person.  I'm more like a sprinter - short blasts of faith followed by a retreat to steady eddy.  The thought of endurance kind of makes me queazy and yet it's the endurance of being faithful which will cause me to be lacking in nothing.  Wowzers.


This morning I sat staring at my husband's bible - it was close at hand and I opened it to find this passage underlined.  


"Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men.  The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 


 As I read this, I was reminded of a devotional by my friend Katy Mowery Swafford from many years ago that made a lot of sense to me.  I am an uber visual processor, so this illustration has stuck with me.


She said, "Imagine the Peace of God and Your Understanding are horses in a horse race.  Imagine that the Peace of God horse ALWAYS  passes and is VICTORIOUS over the horse Your Understanding." So, when I think I understand situations and when I have no understanding of situations, the peace of God trumps my comprehension or lack thereof. Thank you, Jesus.   


And thanks, Katy, for the excellent mental picture.  I am clinging to it today with the giddy excitement of a child of God that knows that so long as she is seeking the Lord and following His will, she can be joyful, unafraid and have the peace of God - no matter what!