Words of Encouragement

Whenever I see this drawing from my daughter, I think of a dry piece of driftwood (I believe that is what it is).  I also think about how we can become when we are not in line with God.  We can become like dry wood.  We can become brittle and easily break, partly because we have not peace.  Yet if we let God "rain" down on us we become like a fresh branch that grows from a flourishing tree.  We are strong, and we bring forth growth.  We are lively because we are experiencing the peace of God which only comes from being connected to him.

keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.  The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; - Psalm 34:13-15

Peace of God. No Good, No Peace. Have you ever wondered if the unrest in your heart may have been because of something you were doing?  I know often we tend to look outward first and not inward.  When we cannot find peace we often think it is because of our circumstances, situations or a number of things. However, sometimes we need to take a personal inventory.

The psalmist speaks to one that needs to turn away from the evil deeds and toward doing what is right.  The psalmist admonishes the reader to turn to seeking peace and going after it.  How do you go after peace?  You seek God with your entire heart, soul, mind and spirit.  The psalmist also goes on to say that God hears your cry and he will listen to those that are righteous.

So just maybe the unrest in ones life might be because of some sin that you have not addressed before the Lord.  Yet, we are offered this wonderful gift.  If we turn from that evil and pursue God to show us, he will.  What he will do then is restore to us our peace.  True peace comes from God.

Yes there are times we give up our peace because we are looking at our situations and we become doubtful.  There are also other times we lose our peace because we become disobedient and we need to turn back to God in order for that peace to be restored.

Lord, today, if there is anyone that has not peace because of the sin in their life, reveal it to them and help them to turn from it.  Help them to repent and have their peace, power and privileges restored.  Thank you today God for caring enough about us to show us when we are not in the right way.