Peace Like a River

Most summers, Steve and I take the children camping by a lively creek at a campground nestled at the base of majestic Mt. Hood, which stands as Oregon's highest point of elevation. The children enjoy exploring the creek while Steve and I stare into the moving waters, allowing its sounds to carry peace into our soul.

Jesus is our creek who we can camp by. When life is dark and hard, when overwhelm visits, when pain blankets us...His invitation is, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.'" (John 7:37-38 NLT). Jesus was teaching on the Holy Spirit and the impact the Spirit would have both in and through the lives of all His followers. Peace is the Spirit's fruit, and is the result of constantly returning to a position of communion with Jesus throughout each day.

With my desire for peace like a river in my heart, you can imagine my smile this week when I came across this verse. "Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea" (Isaiah 48:18 NLT). I love it when Jesus blesses the regular reading of the Bible from cover to cover with a perfectly timed verse for the exact day and month He knew you would need it!

Steve and I have been in a difficult season these last few months. As I have cried out to the Lord in the safety of my prayer closet, it was impressed upon my heart that there is a blanket of oppression on God's people that is causing isolation, pain, and depression. I am praying for God's people all over the world, that we might receive the blessing of "peace like a river" (Isaiah 48:18) as we pay attention to His instructions found in I Peter 5 on our response when the weight of our cares in this world crush our hope.

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith." (I Peter 5:6-9a NLT)

We often hear to cast all our cares on Him, but what about the verse before and after? The steps of humility? The awareness of our enemy coming against God's people? As we trade self-reliance for God-dependence, we choose to remember who God is, mighty and powerful, able to save (see Zeph 3:17). Next we consider this promise Peter speaks of that God cares for us! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" (2 Cor 1:3 ESV). It is our awareness of this truth, that we are cared for by a loving and perfect Heavenly Father, that enables us to give Him our cares. I find this to be a cyclical process!

As we are in this daily process of giving our cares to the Lord, we are to stay aware of our enemy prowling around, looking to plant doubts and lies within us about God's goodness and presence in the midst of difficulties. One of the lies we will hear is, "No one understands! No one knows how long and hard this has been!" To that, we have the truth of I Peter 5:9, "Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are" (I Peter 5:9 NLT)". We are not alone in suffering.

We can either be victims or victors. The choice lies in our perspective. Looking up and looking long, we receive the grace poured out on us because of the cross, enabling us to persevere and one day enter His glory! TRUTH: In Jesus Christ, we are victors!

"In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation" (I Peter 5:10 NLT). The Lord reminded me today that nothing good comes from deciding when my "little while" has been completed. God gets to decide when He lifts the hard, but His promise is one day He will!

When life grows heavy, we have a standing invitation to come to Jesus and find rest (see Matthew 11:28-30). It is here with Jesus, camping by the warmth of His Word and the waters of His Spirit, that we gain access to the peace that flows like a river. As we root ourselves into the firm foundation that Jesus is, we experience the fruit of His Spirit's peace...peace that we can stand on when life shakes. Peace that flows...like a river.