Fear and Peace

Hiding away, secretly harvesting the crops, Gideon trembled when Someone spoke to him, saying, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”  (Speaking those things that are not as though they are. - He does that a lot over us, you know.  Calling out of us what we didn't know He had placed there.) Gideon questioned, "If the Lord is with us, then why are we oppressed, why do we have to be in hiding, secretly bringing in our crops before the Midianites get to them so we don't starve?  The Lord has abandoned us - we know He can do great things, because He's done it before, but my eyes have seen none of that." (my paraphrase)  Then, Gideon gets his commission as the Lord tells him to go in the strength he has and defeat Midian.  Fitly, Gideon replies: "My father's house is the weakest in our tribe and I'm the least in my family...essentially, "What strength??? I don't have any strength to boast.  Didn't you see me hiding and trembling?"  At this honest, humble response, the Lord replies, "Yes, then I will be with you and go before you.  I will defeat Midian before you."  At this promise, Gideon prepared and offered a sacrifice, and it was consumed before him, and the Visitor evaporated into the flames and smoke and disappeared.  It wasn't until then that Gideon realized, Who had been speaking to him and he feared for his life, having spoken face to face with the Angel of the Lord.  Yet, the Angel of the Lord reassured him with the much reiterated statement throughout Scripture when one encounters the Lord or his messengers, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”  In response to this, Gideon built an altar and called it The Lord is Peace. And from there he saw miracles as God delivered the hoards of Midian into the hands of a motley crew of merely 300 armed with torches, pitchers, trumpets and swords.   
     John tells us there is no fear in LOVE but that Love is also PEACE and certainly fear and peace are antithesis of one another.  In fact, I think fear of anything except the Fear of the Lord leads to unrest, turmoil.  Gideon learned that there is One worth trembling before, in awe and acknowledgement of His great majesty, OTHERNESS and power, but He does not want us to fear.  And when we come to the place when nothing else holds any fear for us, and the will of God no matter how impossible or daunting becomes PEACE, we have come to a place of Faith, to an understanding of Who He is. There is a Peace that comes from knowing that He is with us, He is for us, He is our deliverer, provider.  With God as our ally, what have we to fear? 
   I tend to fear my own failure, the list of things I haven't gotten to or can't get to today, the lack of time or time that slips away too fast, the struggle between what I desire to do, the parent and wife I desire to be, and the reality of what is...and I tremble at that.  God is calling us not to be afraid of these things.  Not to tremble before lesser things (maybe it's all about trembling before Him or before lesser things?) but to see Him, high, lifted up, all capable, all knowing, full of compassion, Sovereign over all things and let His Lordship be PEACE. 

Because the Fear of the Lord is PEACE.

   Praise the One who made all things well and can certainly order our days, order our lives, even order our time and decisions and relationships well.  Trust that He can and will, then yield to His Peace.























All Creatures of our God and King by St Francis of Assisi
All creatures of our God and King,
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain:
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou rushing wind that art so strong,
Ye clouds that sail in heav’n along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!

Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!

Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.
And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O praise Him! Alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
Song
Story behind the hymn

A lesson in peace

     It had been a restless night's sleep.  I made myself get up and start spending some quiet time with the Lord and at 6:45 our exchange student came and got me.  Telling me she had been up all night with a stomach ache, she asked me for some medicine for her stomach.  I grabbed her some medicine from my small at-home pharmacy and returned to my Bible and prayer.  Not 10 minutes later, I heard her vomiting violently in the bathroom.  I went to see if I could help her in any way and noticed the vomit - all over the toilet, floor and splattered up against the walls and floor of the shower - she hadn't quite made it in time.  As I surveyed the mess, knowing that my day was already off to a late start, all I really wanted was to finish my "time with the Lord" before getting dressed, fixing breakfast and starting my day.  However, I sent her to her room and let her know I would clean up the mess.

     As I began cleaning up, the Lord began to speak to me in ways that He may not have been able to when I was so busy with my quiet time - spending time talking to Him.  He showed me how easy it is to compartmentalize our day and our understanding of life in Him.  It's easy to think of Bible time as my "time in the presence of the Lord," and then we get up and move on from that presence to the rest of the day.  The Lord gently reminded me that cleaning up vomit while communing with Him, doing it as a service to Him was just as much or even more valuable to Him than all the quiet time I could give.  The whole point of Christianity is the Christ has come to reveal Himself in and with and through us at every moment of our day, not just relegate time in His Presence to special segments of our day/week.  Then, as we begin to really grab hold of and assimilate this truth, all of life becomes about living in His presence and letting Him dictate our time.  Cleaning up vomit wasn't on the top of my list, but it was His gift to me that day, the way He wanted me to spend my time in that moment.  So much of my peace disturbance revolves around time.  If my day is a rush and I experience one delay after another, kids aren't concentrating in school and it takes twice as long as it should or more, others place demands on my time, my Spirit/soul get so stirred up and anxious.  His challenge to me is this: Will I really trust Him with all my time and see ALL that I do as it truly is - time in his presence - and walk in joyful peace as I serve Him in all the little and big tasks He sends, along with the curve balls that knock my day completely off the course I had intended for it.
 
     God made a covenant of peace with Phineas when his zeal for the things of GOD, caused him to act according to God's justice, as he saw all of life as an act of worship to GOD.  We have also been given a covenant of peace with God through the cross and can walk in that as we make all of life and act of sacrifice and worship. Num.25:12
Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed

1
Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
  And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
  For such a worm as I?
  At the cross, at the cross where
  I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
  And now I am happy all the day!
2
Was it for sins that I had done
  He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
  And love beyond degree!
3
Well might the sun in darkness hide,
  And shut His glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
  For man, His creature’s sin.
4
Thus might I hide my blushing face
  While His dear cross appears.
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
  And melt mine eyes to tears.
5
But drops of grief can ne’er repay
  The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
  ’Tis all that I can do.

Beautiful rendition, alternative tune
Story behind the hymn

   Peace: 1 freedom from disturbance; quiet; tranquility 2.freedom from or the cessation of war or violence 3. serenity, calm, composure, contentment, equanimity. 

    There's a serenity, a tranquility and soul quietness that comes not just from calm or peaceful surroundings free from adversity but from Whom you are with.  Knowing that... someone has your back, that nothing can move or shake you apart from admittance by an infinitely good Father who can cause five to chase 100 and 100 to put 10,000 to flight... imbues one with unshakable security - unshakable as long as one REMEMBERS this truth.  
   In reading on peace this week, I came across this passage - a promise of peace in the land as a gift for those who walk in obedience, accompanied by a greater GIFT of Himself and the promise that He Himself would abide, would dwell with and be the I AM, the All Sufficient in the midst of a people.  I feel like if I but saw the reality of His power or even just the angels tasked to guard me, or my children, nothing could shake me or make me afraid ever again.  Yet, seeing is not believing, for Israel saw many things and many times failed to believe.  But believing is having full CONFIDENCE in the unalterable TRUTH of what He says and knowing HE IS whom He says HE IS.  
  I want to be like Moses who told GOD he wouldn't move on until He knew God would continue to go with them and before them...or even more like Joshua who wouldn't leave the tent of meeting outside the camp because he wanted to just be where He was.  No wonder he was chosen as the next leader of God's people.  He had seen it all, errors in the people, errors in leadership and had come to know that there was nothing life had to offer better than being in God's presence.  When others fail us, when earthly joys are hard to come by, when change is hard and staying in the same spot is harder, when we can't see our way or temptations seem irresistible, His abiding presence makes all the difference in the world and is Constancy, JOY, Clarity, Righteousness and Grace unending. 
   If His abiding presence isn't the essence of peace, I don't know what is...So, my pursuit of peace leads me also to pursue His abiding presence, to be rooted and grounded in Him and to live in His presence and in the confidence that He is Who He says He is and He is for me!

Leviticus 26:3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.

6 “‘I will grant peace in the land, and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land, and the sword will not pass through your country. 7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.

9 “‘I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place[a] among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.

1. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
   The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
   When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
   Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
2. Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
   Earth’s joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
   Change and decay in all around I see—
   O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
3. I need Thy presence every passing hour;
   What but Thy grace can foil the tempter’s pow’r?
   Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
   Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PrwSTyPJtw
5. I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
   Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness;
   Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
   I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
6. Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
   Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
   Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
   In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Abide With Me
Story behind the hymn

      Peace...It's my word for the year - my heart's desire to find, know and live out a life experience of PEACE in every area of my life.  A peace independent of my life experience, schedule, relational conflicts, cleanliness of my house, behavior of my children.  A peace dependent and drawn from solely One - the Prince of Peace.  How can I not know and live and walk and breathe in PEACE if the Prince of Peace truly lives in, through, by, for and with me.  If he really is the GOD who cannot fail, who is ever vigilant for my GOOD, who allows all things to pass with love through His fingers and who ALONE does ALL things well, how can I not walk in serene PEACE???
   Before you think me a saint, I said I'm on a journey to discover and walk in this, not that I have already attained it.  Will you join me in the journey?  Perhaps you have your own word, own goals and study you are pursuing... but maybe, just maybe, you could use a little more PEACE too.  Maybe you too are hungry for a little more.  A radical, unshakable FAITH that manifests as PEACE.  So often I find that there is a disconnect between what I SAY I believe about GOD and my relationship to Him and with Him and the manifestations of that in my life - a living testament that every living, breathing, moving cell in me KNOWS that my GOD, my ADVOCATE, the STRENGTH and SUSTENANCE of the UNIVERSE is FOR me, WITH me, IN me... 
   How radically would my journey, your journey shift if what we confess to believe became an unshakable CONFIDENCE that controls us, rather than something we continually have to work-up in our spirit, remind ourselves of ... while shaking off the doubts, fears and questions that rise up against TRUTH. I'm tired of living on the edge of FAITH and it making no major difference in the way I live.  Sure, I'm intentional to pray and spend daily time with the FATHER.  I pray all throughout the day.  I remind myself of Who He is and What He can do.  I'm not saying I'm godless or unaffected, but I've hungered long for something MUCH MORE.  SOMETHING that's real, out there, available, BIBLICAL and yet missing from my everyday experience. 

   I have this feeling like I'm about to be skydiving (had the wonderful opportunity to do this with my sister Tirzah a few years back!!).  I'm in the plane wanting it, prepared for it with all the support and help available, but I've got to jump out of the plane - an idea which both terrifies and thrills me.  I know everything's in place to give me the experience of a lifetime in safety, but making myself free fall forward, propel myself out, is still daunting.  Are you ready to jump out of the plane, the comfort of knowledge to the freedom and exhilaration of radical faith?  The only thing I can promise is that the view is much better out there!  It may not be easy or feel easy but there's PEACE available to those who will take the jump.  I just know it.  I will search for it and bring you along!  

A mighty Fortress is our God,

A Bulwark never failing;

Our Helper He amid the flood

Of mortal ills prevailing:

For still our ancient foe

Doth seek to work us woe;

His craft and power are great,

And, armed with cruel hate,

On earth is not his equal.

2

Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing;

Were not the right Man on our side,

The Man of God’s own choosing:

Dost ask who that may be?

Christ Jesus, it is He;

Lord Sabaoth His Name,

From age to age the same,

And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,

Should threaten to undo us,

We will not fear, for God hath willed

His truth to triumph through us:

The Prince of Darkness grim,

We tremble not for him;

His rage we can endure,

For lo! his doom is sure,

One little word shall fell him.

4

That word above all earthly powers,

No thanks to them, abideth;

The Spirit and the gifts are ours

Through Him who with us sideth:

Let goods and kindred go,

This mortal life also;

The body they may kill:

God’s truth abideth still,

His Kingdom is forever.

Song - A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

Story behind the hymn

My theme verse to memorize and meditate on this week: 28 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you 29 that you will do us no harm,just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”Genesis 26:28-29