The Rest Of The Story

My body.  My choice.  My rights.  My way.  The whole world is looking out for their own selves to the detriment of kindness and respect for one another.  Everywhere we look the attitude is me, me, and more of me.  Selfishness has taken over.  In the meantime, mental illness is on the rise, broken and dysfunctional families have become the norm, and outright hatred for others who don’t believe as we do is rampant.  Violence is reported on every news channel.  People go missing, parents are murdering their children, children are lacking respect for their parents and authority figures.  What in the world is happening all around us?  Has our arch enemy won?  Is evil really going to triumph over all?   

It is so easy to become disheartened when we focus on the world around us.  Our joy can be zapped away if we keep our eyesight on this current darkness.  We can spiral down into a pit of lost hope.  Is there a way to maintain joy and peace in the midst of our present chaos?  Oh, yes!

It’s all a matter of our focal point.  It’s a matter of knowing the rest of the story.  Jesus regularly warned His disciples that in this world there would be tribulations, but He went on to say, we can be of good cheer because He has overcome the world.  He also assured them that He would give His peace.  How does that work?

Lately I have been dwelling on the Old Testament verse, Isaiah 26:3 which reads, “You (the Lord Himself)  will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.”  You see, when troubles swirl around us, it’s human nature to dwell on those problems.  We try to think of ways to solve them.  We want to be rid of them so we think and think and think.  That’s human nature.  The thing is, as Christians we have something available to us that is far better than our human nature.  It’s a supernatural nature.  It’s the nature of Jesus Christ, and it’s available to us.  How do we acquire this supernatural nature?

When we receive Jesus Christ into our lives, the Holy Spirit comes to reside within.  Therefore, we have available to us, His own peace and courage and wisdom and joy.  We can function in that peace by what we meditate upon.  If we have troubles and fix our thoughts on those things that disturb us, then naturally turmoil will reign in our hearts.  If, on the other hand, we fix our thoughts on the One who is able to do above all we can even imagine, then supernaturally, Holy joy and peace will sit on the throne of our hearts.  

To maintain such spiritual focus takes practice.  Begin now.  Ask the Lord to keep thoughts of all that’s possible in Him, to settle in your being and rule your minds.  Peace will come.