Everywhere I go
these days, every person I meet, every message I hear or read, in every
circumstance, it seems the message I hear the Lord sharing is, “Trust Me.” Whether
it’s about a job situation, a sick child, an aging parent, a son at war, a
discouraging diagnosis, a separation from a mate, a geographical move or a
future marriage, to name a few, life presents trust issues.
The question is,
“Are we going to trust our Sovereign God?” To be sure, many of these situations
are unpleasant, stressful, painful, lonely, and certainly NOT to my liking. They
may not turn out at all the way I have pictured them in my
head or hoped for, but ultimately, the Lord of my life reaches for my hand and
asks, “Will you trust Me
for the outcome?”
Herein is His
Peace that passes ALL understanding. My former pastor and friend, Rick Milby at
Abundant Life Fellowship in Corpus Christi, TX once explained Phil 4:7 in a way
I have never forgotten.
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all
comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” NASB
Pastor Rick’s word
picture appealed to me because I've had the opportunity to own
several, super hot cars in my life. I can see the silver and black panels and
the red pin-striping of my Indy Pace-car Corvette. I can still smell it's red
leather interior that fit my frame like a glove. I can also tell you that I set the pace more than a few times between Lake
Dallas and Denton in the days before I had kids who brought my need for a “Soccer
Mom” van.
Imagine traveling
down the highway of Life. You and your human understanding are driving
along in the front car, tending your lane, enjoying the lead position, minding
and mulling over the scenery even as the route twists and turns. All the while, traffic is stacking up behind your lead and many attempt to pass unsuccessfully.
And then, from seemingly nowhere, another car enters the passing lane, and with
ease, breezes by to take the straight away and lead the entourage!
This picture is like Divine Peace as He passes all our human understanding when we give the lead position to trust God
in everything. The key word is GIVE. We
must yield the very thing we hold onto…our need to have the lead-car position
in our lives.
The world around
us flaunts, encourages, and teaches placing our confidence in ourselves along
with our talents and abilities to live successfully. The Lord instructs us
through Paul in Phil 3:3 to put no confidence in our flesh…. In other words,
don’t be “pulled away” by a lead car called “Confidence” in your humanity.
I could tout as
Paul does in subsequent verses. It seems that people regularly remind me of how
God has blessed me with a creative heritage, a zeal for music, and a zest for
artistic expression whether I have a paintbrush, pen or a pair of scissors in
my hand. It’s humbling and I am grateful that He has gifted me in many ways.
Like Paul, I count
it ALL loss in view of a surpassing knowledge in Jesus. I can stand before you
today and Father God tomorrow knowing Christ and the power of His Resurrection
in my life. I know Him more intimately now through the “fellowship of His
Suffering.”
Most of us, me
included, don’t like the “suffering” part and we slug along in our fellowship
with Jesus because of it. We like those easy and straight-forward highways so
we can “punch it and go it
alone.” Driving the open
roads full speed ahead builds a false confidence in our human spirit and
sometimes, God uses a little and/or lot of fellowship called suffering.
When life throws
me a curve in the darkness that I can’t humanly comprehend, I do know that I can
trust the Lord to pop the clutch, down shift a gear or two, and take control of
my pace car. My only job is to keep
my eyes focused on Him, on the road just ahead, prop my foot on the dash, roll the
window down and enjoy the wind's breeze in my hair…
I can trust the
“Driver of my Peace car” to hug me
and the road nicely… and so can you!
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