Tough Week, but God Always Offers Peace

This week has been extremely difficult for me. For various reasons I have had a wide range of emotions, and tonight they all just seemed to merge together and form a not so pleasant time for me. I never thought I was much of an 'emotional' person - usually I bottle everything up and show no emotion, but for some reason, in recent months, it just all seems to come out in journal writing, tears, and sighs. So tonight I needed to dive into my bible and find some encouraging words, and this is what I found:

Experiencing God's Peace
The peace Jesus promised...was not absence of conflict - the early believers faced conflict from all sides. Instead, it meant a deep inner peace made possible by the presence of the Holy Spirit in each believer's life. The Holy Spirit's peace allows us to find, deep within, a peace from God as we face the storms and stresses of life. This isn't peace as the world gives or as we might want it to be. It isn't a promise of life without problems. Instead, it is peace in spite of the problems, the stresses, the crises.

The apostle Paul wrote: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. They you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7)

Paul explained that as we face the storms and stresses, we can turn our worries into prayers and present our needs to God. And you know what will happen? You'll experience God's peace. Your heart and mind will be blanketed with it - guarded against unwanted intruders. Your stomach will stop churning. You'll be able to sleep. You'll be able to face the day without tears. You'll be able to focus on what needs to be done. You'll be able tot deal with your kids without yelling at them. You'll be able to get through the crisis intact.

How can that be? The conflict is still there; we still have a long way to go to get out of this crisis The peace comes not from feeling good about our situation. It comes from knowing the one truth that matters most: God is in control. That alone is the foundation of our peace. No matter what happens, we can trust our God to be at work for us.

We can make it. The journey may be long head of us, the light at the end of the tunnel not yet visible. But God is here with us. Place your hand in his and walk forward with him, unafraid, unhurried, and at peace.
-Linda K. Taylor


This is a video I found of a song that I have grown to love. The words are perfect, and although the girl in the video is singing at a funeral, her voice is beautiful and truly conveys what the song means. Please listen if you have a chance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDHrIXcW_rI