PEACE vs PIECES

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.
John 14:26

Unrest, discord, family problems, serious health concerns, financial woes, wayward children, political unrest, culture plummeting and on and on it goes as we look at today's unrest. These all affect our personal peace from time to time in one way or the other. Fortunately, all of these don't strike at us individually all at the same time, but each of us if not now, perhaps later, find ourselves sitting in the middle of some of life's pieces. We wonder if our shattered lives can ever be put together again or if we can possibly get through it all one piece ourselves.

For one, let's be honest with the fact that we will one day or another find ourselves with some part of our lives laying in pieces. The positive thing about pieces is they can usually be put back together with only a few rough edges to deal with. Should we go through a time of real shattering in our lives, the pieces are usually too small to make any sense of, let alone put back together. Day's with pieces are going to come so we are wise to be aware that it will happen. It's the nature of life, of the way Satan operates, especially with wanting to bring down any Christian he can

Pieces are very individual. Although some of us may go through some similar circumstances, they will never be identical. Every divorce splits folks apart legally, but the faces are different as are the causes. It's more and more important that we Christians stand ready to be encouragers for one another.

Jesus is a promise maker and keeper. He spoke the opening verse shortly before His time of departure from the earth...at least for a time. His disciples were troubled at the very thought of His leaving. He could have promised them anything He wanted to. He chose to leave them with peace. That peace has extended to this very day. It's available to us in abundance for the taking. That peace that is an inward quality in our lives may not necessarily pick up our pieces. Some may come together in time, but no matter the timing, the peace of Jesus is always ours getting us through a troubling time.

It was a good day when reading in my Bible, the verses I found in Philippians 4:4-7 that says with great admonition and encouragement:

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again
I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all
men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every
thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall

keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus.

These verses give us steps to take when sitting in the middle of some of life's pieces:

*Always be a person of rejoicing. The word “always” means just that.
*The Lord has not forsaken you...He is at hand in all you are facing.
*Refuse to be captive to worry. Worry never solved anything. Worry paralyzes our spirit.
*Take every concern to God...be honest with Him in your requests. Leave them with Him.
*If we refuse to rely on our own resources, but on God's, we will be amazed.
*We are promised the peace of God that no one will be able to understand.
*In addition, He will safely keep in hand our emotions and thinking through Jesus.

Another verse of importance is that found in Psalm 119:165:

Great peace have they which love thy
law, and nothing shall offend them.

What a wonderful verse that teaches the benefits of our being in God's Word. We need to be memorizing it, personally studying it, learning about it from outside sources, and swimming around in it if necessary. If we love God's law, we'll make it a vital part of our lives.

Don't ask me how all this happens apart from what we read in God's Word. He doesn't want His children to wander around crying, fussing, plotting and all that goes with solving our own problems. When we do, as the unsaved watch us, it doesn't look good on our God who we tell folks can handle anything. We must let go and let God do His work in our circumstances and within us that as we grow, God will be honored and glorified.

Help me Father, to accept Your peace but to do my part in being a person of rejoicing and prayer. I praise You for Your generosity in my life, filling it with Your love and peace. May I walk worthy of being Your child. In Jesus' precious name...Amen