Peace, Peace

From our reading this morning in Isaiah 57...


:2 "Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."

:10 "[But you wicked people], you were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, 'It is hopeless.' You found renewal of your strength and so you did not faint."

:11 "Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me...?"

:12 "I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you."

:17 "I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways."


If we are looking for true rest and peace, it will not be found in anything on earth. True peace comes from walking uprightly--and, even then, we may only find real rest in death! Life on earth is not promised to be perfect or smooth sailing. Things won't go perfectly our way, but God has His reasons--and, in the middle of it all, He promises rest.

I want to share with you the warning I found in verse 10 though...when we see our wicked ways, and we get tired of them, it is not enough. These wicked people found strength that they didn't know they had and continued on in their muck. God calls us to get out of the muck!! He calls us to live for Him. Have you confessed 80% of sin? Someone recently told me that they had confessed a sin in part, but thought that the elders got 'the general gist of it' and 'there's no need to go into all the specifics'. I pressed my friend as to whether or not they thought that was real confession--and then they told me that if they confessed every detail, it would hurt the other person involved. Girls, is that what we're doing when we confess? Making excuses, trying to make sin sound better, not wanting to let go of everything? That's why some confession is not enough! We will never get out of the muck if we only confess part of it! Comparing it to the analogy of when we are saved, our eyes are opened to a room full of manure--what if the lights were still dimmed? We might be able to shovel out most of the manure, but it is only with full light that we will be able to see all and, with the grace of God, clean the whole room! Do not fall into the trap of partial confession--Satan will renew your strength to sin more!

In verse 11, my train of thought continues. Who is it that we are so scared of that we do not turn to Christ? Who is it that causes us to be false to Him? Are you scared that if you confess to being deceitful, your parents won't trust you or let you do anything? Are you scared that if you confess to sexual immorality, you may lose your boyfriend? Are you scared that if you confess to cheating at school, your friends won't look at you as intelligent? Are you scared that if you confess to not truly being a Christian, your friends will look down on you? There are so many things I have been scared of in the past. So many people I knew I would disappoint and hurt if I confessed certain sins. Two things I have learned though--imperfect people love and forgive. God, who is perfect, loves even more and forgives any sin we truly confess and repent of. Isn't that amazing??

Speaking of being scared, verse 12 is a harsh warning. God promises to expose our 'righteousness' and 'works'--but when He does, it will not benefit us! Think about it, ladies--think about all the works we've done. Will they ultimately be for His glory? Think about our righteousness--how righteous are we? Are we striving toward holiness? If God came today, and saw our pretension and superficiality, would He be content with that as righteousness? Would He look at all our works that were done to get praise or the attention of that guy or to look better, and say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant"? His standards are sooo much higher than ours!

:17 Sinful greed...willful ways. What are we greedy for? More worldliness? Have we submitted or are we continuing to walk in our willful ways? He promises to punish and hide His face--trust me, we don't want either one!

:21 "There is no peace...for the wicked". If you have no peace, pray to God and seek His mercy!!

Scattered Thoughts

Sometimes I feel like God has taken everything away from me, and I don't get it. I don't understand why I can't have the things that make me happy.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Isn't that so easy to say? And so hard to live out? When friends leave, when earthly comforts seem to be going away, when we don't understand why things happen, it is so hard to live like this verse is true.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

But WHY, God? I want to know why you allow certain things to happen. Why do you allow me to sin? Why do you take things away from me that I consider so dear? Why am I saddened and confused and hurt??

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Oh, I just saw that. In ALL things. In all hurt, God? Really? Because I'm not seeing much good right now. For MY good? I do love you, God. More than everything else? I'm trying God. Sometimes that part is hard.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Your purpose. Got it. Not mine. Because just to let You know, God, (and I know you already know) Your purpose is often not mine. My will wants something else most of the time. Like right now. I want Your will, but I want mine, too. I want Your will to be my will. But that's not right, God. I know. Help me to believe, and help me to surrender!!! Help me to see that I may not know the why, or how things will ultimately be for my good, but help me to see that You are working them out for my good. God, that is the most encouraging promise I have ever heard! Help me to TRUST You in that!!!



Something I was thinking about on the way home tonight...kind of had these thoughts in the form of a prayer.

"God, why do you allow me pain in my friendships with people? I am often disappointed by them. I hate when friends don't keep commitments or don't seem to love me or want to be around me. I hate that most of my friendships are superficial, and I hate that people don't make time for me."

"Jenna, the Best Friend you can have is Jesus Christ."

"God, I know that You say that. But I don't really see it. Plus, I can't have dinner with Him. I can't go on a walk with Him. I can't do anything for Him."

"Jenna. You are called to commune with Him. You are called to walk with Him. I want you to love Me and serve Me and obey My will. This pleases Me."

"Yes, God, but. But what about my friends on earth? I put so much time into some of my friendships; all I want is some kind of response."

"Jenna, that's the point. You put so much time and energy and resources into things and people I have told you will ultimately disappoint. You have put your trust in people who are sinful and faulty. You have invested into relationships that are by nature, temporal. What about Me? How much time have you spent with Me lately? How much have you valued Me? How much have you done to please Me? I have promised to never leave you or forsake you. I have promised to always love you with a real love. I have promised you. I do not change. I do not disappoint. I promise to be here whenever you need Me, day or night. I promise to keep my promises. I promise that if you do what I command, you will be blessed. Could you ask for a better friend? No matter what person you invest in on earth, it will never be as satisfying as a relationship with Me. TRUST Me, Jenna. OBEY Me, Jenna."

How easy is it to pretend that we are loving our friends and not expecting anything from them in return, but then we get angry or self-righteous or indignant or sad or depressed when we don't get anything in return? Christ has promised to be our friend. To be our Savior and Lord. And, that if we follow Him, we will be blessed. Girls, we are told to love as He loved us. What causes us to devalue that love or think that any other kind of love is better?? He is offering that love to us--let's take it!



One more thought:

I think I read this story in an Elisabeth Elliot book...
A woman was struggling between her will and God's will. Which to choose, which to choose...
A wise pastor gave her a piece of paper with two words on it and told her to cross one off, and she would have her answer.
She came back and silently handed him her paper, with neither word crossed off.
On the paper was written "Yes, Lord." We cannot cross off either word and still be in His will. To cross off "Lord" would be to blatantly admit that He is not our Lord--we are not doing His will, we don't care. Yet to cross off "yes", we cannot still call Him Lord.