I have been recovering from my unexpected open-heart surgery. I’m trying to learn through this experience rather than try to control it (as if I could!) or fight against it. I have a sordid track-record in my responses to God’s calling me to do what I really don’t want to do. To me, this is as much of a spiritual journey as it is a physical one. He has been opening my eyes to see things about myself and His ways that I’ve not observed before! I will attempt to share one in this blog.
In my reflections through Isaiah, I was stopped in my tracks when I read LORD, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. (Isaiah 26:12, NLT2) This is a very loaded verse! Each of us want His peace in our daily lives, especially with the clutter of so many voices speaking to us and so many plates spinning at the same time. Our experience with His peace crisscrosses back and forth across the line between control and chaos. I suspect if put on a screen, that back and forth trip would look like a heart monitor constantly jumping up and down. The ironic thing is, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and came to give us His peace. As believers, we have a level of peace others may not have, but we would be very hard pressed to say we always experience His peace every day of the week.
The Spirit inspired Isaiah to write Lord, you will grant us peace–note the future tense. In the midst of that, God wants His peace for us (although this certainly isn’t always an external peace), and it is intended for us to have this peace. His peace has already been arranged for and released. What keeps most of us from literally experiencing His inner peace is revealed in the last part of this verse, which is most revealing. Isaiah goes on to say, all we have accomplished is really from you. There appears to be a most humbling correlation between our recognition that whatever we do is actually only Him doing it through us, and the actualization of Him ordaining peace for us. In practice this would mean what righteousness happens in our life is largely there not because of our efforts or way of thinking but because of God’s initiative and workings. This reminds me of Jesus’ word, The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens (Mark 4:26-27, NLT2) The only role we have is perhaps even naively agreeing with and submitting to whatever drawing He works in us towards Him and His righteousness. While this most certainly deserves your continued prayerful study, this blog will not permit me to expand on it with you.
How is it then we perhaps even naively agree with and submit to His working within us? The answer to that is found in the results to an authentic spiritual rebirth Ezekiel describes in verses 36:25-27. The defining result of salvation is, I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. Plainly put, an authentic believer will not be perfect but will have a STRONG DESIRE to follow God’s decrees and regulations in contrast to his/her own preference or anyone else’s. Like a child learning to walk, although he/she may fall, he/she has a strong enough desire to get up and again try to take steps forward. Over time, desire for God overpowers independent thinking and falls decrease as maturity increases.
There is a direct correlation between a person having a desire to follow God, taking steps to do so and experiencing His peace his/her world of continual external chaos. And at the end of the day, God will have worked His incredible works through that person. BUT it is essential that that person recognize it was God’s Spirit, not his own efforts, ingenuity or talent! That means the more we relax and follow the DESIRE the Spirit put within to follow Him, not only will we experience a greater fullness of His peace but also be a part of Him working the supernatural through us.
So glad you are experiencing His peace at this time!