Fruity Spirits Day 3: Peace

[ photo source ]

Here we are on day three of our nine day journey through the fruits of the spirits series entitled "Fruity Spirits".  If you missed the first two days take a moment to check them out now:  Day 1: Love , Day 2: Joy  Today we move on in Galatians 5:22-23 and discuss peace!

PEACE.  

If you're thinking along the same lines as me you most definitely just pictured a bunch of hippies with their two fingers up in the air declaring the peace sign.  Or maybe you thought of peace on a completely different level and wafted off to a peaceful place in your mind where you were spending an afternoon snoozing in the hammock....seriously though lets chill for a second and for the sake of this post talk about peace on a more literal sense.

Let's talk about peace as a trait of our character.
Let's talk about peace as a way of life.
Let's talk about BEING at peace.
Let's talk about living IN peace.

To be at peace it means we have no worries, no second thoughts, no apprehensions about what may come.  Being at peace is knowing full well that God has it ALL under control.  

Peace is the ability to rise in the morning, lay our heads on the pillow at night, and fill all the moments in between by saying "it is well with my soul".  

Peace is knowing IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY.

Peace is saying "God there's so many things in my life that I should be scared to death about but because of your precious hand on my life I can breathe and know that there is no need to worry because YOU HAVE A PLAN".  

Being at peace is having full confidence in God's plan for your life.
Being at peace is having no doubts that there IS a plan for your life.
Being at peace is having awareness that there IS a BIGGER PICTURE.

Being at peace is saying "God whatever comes my way I'm trusting that you have a plan".  
IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL.

We begin to live peacefully when we are at peace with the realization that God's hand guides our path, not our own.  God's plan overrules ours.  And whatever comes our way, must be for the glory of God...somewhere, somehow, all in the bigger picture that only God can see.

Laying our burdens, worries, and fears down and saying "God, I trust you." is the first step to living a peace filled life.

" For our God is not a God of disorder but of peace."

- 1 Corinthians 14:33 

I urge you and challenge you to examine your own life and ask yourself, am I living IN peace?  Is it well with MY soul?

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you."

- 2 Thessalonians 3:16

 

And finally, since we've talking about peace so much it just wouldn't feel right to end this post any other way....

Peace out! 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."

- Galatians 5:22-23 

God = Our GPS

[ photo source ]

Being someone who has a tendency to get lost take an adventure getting to new places you can believe that I am grateful for the invention of a little device called the GPS.

A GPS is great...you punch in your desired destination, fasten your seatbelt, put the car in drive and off you go.  As the voice of your GPS guides you through each turn and down each road you find yourself worry-free as you have full confidence that your GPS will deliver you right to your destination.  In fact, should you by chance take a wrong turn you even hear that little GPS-voice saying "redirecting"...and before you know it a new route to your same destination is developed.

Turning off course doesn't destroy your chances of ever arriving at your destination...yes it may make your trip a little longer BUT eventually you will arrive at your destination.

Getting completely lost is a lot harder with a GPS on board.

If you think about it...God is a lot like a GPS.  Directing and guiding us from our current destination to His planned destination for us.  He knows where we are at all times and knows how to get us to where we need to be.  The day we were born our "route" was developed and ever since then every little off-course turn that we have taken has resulted in a "re-direction".  When we make a "wrong turn" in life God simply says "uh-oh, redirecting!" and guides us back on our way to His destination for us.

What if we put as much faith in God's direction as we do in the directions our GPS spits out?  

When I flip on my GPS I have complete confidence that it's directions will lead me to where I need to be.  Though I tread through unknown territory I am worry-free because I know I have my GPS to count on.

In life God needs that same kind of faith from you and from me.  We're going to go through "unknown territory" in life and we need to know that there is no need to worry because God's got our back.  We can count on Him.  He knows the roads of life better than any other.

We must learn to allow Him to direct our steps and guide us.  He knows the best route to your destination.  Gosh, he designed your destination - let Him drive!  Sit back and enjoy the ride!

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will counsel you and watch over you."

Psalm 32:8

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Disguised Blessings

http://pinterest.com/pin/199988039674398362/

What if blessing come through raindrops?

What if healing comes through tears?

What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you're near?

What if the trials of this life are your mercies in disguise? 

-Laura Story "Blessings"

So you think its the end of the world.  You think whatever is going on in your life is a tragedy.  You think your life has been ruined.  You think things will never be the same.  You think....you think.....you think......

Stop thinking.

Why do you think what is going on in your life is meant to completely ruin you?  How do you know that it is not God's way of saying "I've got you....I'm here...JUST BE STILL"? 

What if the very struggles and circumstances in which you are living your life at this VERY MOMENT are the things that you are going to look back on later and see that God was working?  What if God is using this trial, this struggle, this frustration to bring awareness to His presence?  What if God is SAVING you from something that could have RUINED you?  What if this frustration is His way of delivering you a blessing?  

We're so quick to draw conclusions and assume the worst in our lives.  It's the realization that there is a bigger picture being drawn that we need to become aware of.  It's realizing that the way we see something might be completely different from the way God sees it and intends it. 

How are we to know how God intends a circumstance He places in our lives?  It's all about trusting Him and knowing that there IS a bigger picture unfolding and only upon looking back at the situation later will we ever begin to grasp an understanding.  

God can use our hurts, our frustrations, our difficult times to simply draw us closer to Him in order to move on to the blessings He has in store for us.  His blessings can come in all shapes, sizes, and ways, but we will never get to them if we're not trusting that what He has us going through is for a greater purpose.  

Take this moment in your life to be still in the circumstances that God has placed you in.  Know that He is near and that He is working behind the scenes preparing a plan for you and your life that is beyond your wildest dreams.  Trust Him with where you're at and know that the trials of this life can truly be His mercies in disguise.

This song by Laura Story says it perfectly:  Blessings 

"God's will is always more clear through the rear-view mirror than through the windshield."