“When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul.” (Spafford)
Okay, maybe everything isn’t as well as I would like it to be.
Since my last post, I have faced issue after issue. Minor inconveniences that have really worked on my last nerve. As I allowed each issue to grow and fester, one more inconvenience built on top of another, until, well lets just say things have been quite chaotic and rather stressful.
This morning my alarm went off, and I turned on Joyce Meyer. She began speaking on the armor of God, and within the first five minutes reminded me that to find my peace, to put on the armor, I need to seek God first. So, I went to get my devotional. Truth is I haven’t worked on it because it has been in my car, and I didn’t feel like going to get it. Truth is, I talked myself out of spending time in the Word believing listening to a few shows or tapes would get me through the day. Don’t get me wrong, they do help, but we need to seek God on an intimate level where He can speak to us about what is going on in our lives.
Today’s lesson?
Peace
Today’s focal point?
Job
Okay, so I start reading what Job went through. Within a very short span of time he loses all his livestock, servants, and his ten children. He responds by ripping off his clothes, shaving his head, and worshipping God.
Another example. Horatio Spafford. He is the author of the hymn It Is Well With My Soul. He and his wife had four daughters and a son. His son dies at age 4 due to Scarlet Fever. Then the next year, he loses all his investments in the Chicago Fire. He and his wife decide to go to Europe with their girls and spend time vacationing and serving with Dwight L. Moody. At the last minute, he gets stuck in New York, so his wife and daughters set sail without him. The ship crashes at sea, and his four daughters perish. On his way to his wife’s side, he is on board his ship and passes the waters where his daughters died. The Holy Spirit consumes him, and he writes the hymn It Is Well With My Soul.
So where does that leave me? Granted the situations I have faced and been inconvenienced with in no way compare to what Job or Horatio Spafford faced. But I still lost my peace. As minor as the inconvenience, if we let it penetrate us then we will be like Job in saying:
“What I feared has come upon me, What I dreaded has happened to me, I have no peace, no quietness, I have no rest, but only turmoil.” (Job 3:25-26, NIV)
I have been there the past several days. In turmoil. No peace. No quiet. Hardly anytime to rest.
BUT GOD…reminded me this morning, that that is exactly where the devil wants me. If I do not have peace, I do not have joy, and things become more difficult to deal with.
So where do we find it?
Perhaps, we take our cues from Job and Horatio, and we seek God.
Seek Him today ladies. Take five minutes and go to your room and play that favorite worship song. Lock yourself in the bathroom and pray. Find a verse that encourages you and meditate on it. Seek God, and “Then you will experience peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.” (Philippians 4:7, NLT)
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