Peace - No Matter What!

 PEACE - NO MATTER WHAT!

When the world turns upside down, where can we find peace?

      So many people are brimming over with anxiety and fear these days.  Certainly, we are living in perilous times. It’s not the only time in history where times have been perilous, but as far as our generations experience, it’s the first time we’ve felt like our world is truly turning upside down. 

     Famous words from a Charles Dickens novel come to mind: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”  I see parallels in this statement with the times in which we are living.  When we think of all the modern conveniences and knowledge that is available to us today, we could say these are the best of times, but when we consider how our values, liberties and beloved way of life are crumbling around us, then we might think it is the worst of times.

     I’m here to encourage you to consider this the best of times.  No matter whether the world is turning upside down or the sky is falling in, if we keep in mind that God is in control of every bit of everything, then we can rest in the assurance that He loves us – no matter what!  These are times when our faith is being tested.  Will we trust God or will we curl into a ball of fear?  It takes the worst of times to test our faith and bring out the best in our journey of faith.

      Let me share today’s reading in Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling (written in 2008).  Jesus is saying to us: “I am your Refuge and Strength, an ever-present Help in trouble. Therefore, you don’t need to be afraid of anything – not even cataclysmic circumstances. The media are increasingly devoted to fear-inducing subject matter: terrorism, serial killers, environmental catastrophes. If you focus on such dangers and forget that I am your Refuge in all circumstances, you will become increasingly fearful. Every day I manifest My grace in countless places and situations, but the media take no notice. I shower not only blessings but also outright miracles on your planet.

      “As you grow closer to Me, I open your eyes to see more and more of My Presence all around you. Things that most people hardly notice, like shifting shades of sunlight, fill you with heart-bursting Joy. You have eyes that see and ears that hear, so proclaim My abiding Presence in the world.”

       I love the opening words of the old hymn: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace” (written by Helen Lemmel in 1922).

     When we keep our eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ and trust His heart of love, we can rest in that wonderful “peace that passes understanding,” which is available to all God’s children every moment of every day.

     “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you…because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place,” Psalm 91:7 & 9.

  

Photo:  I took this picture at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The building in the picture is upside down - it's Ripley's Believe it Or Not.

Book:  Charles Dickens wrote “A Tale of Two Cities,” published in 1859.