daily java

Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
 ‘I have come to set a man against his father,
      a daughter against her mother,
   and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
    Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
(Matthew 10:35-37)

Jesus promises peace in your heart to all who accept him, the peace that the apostle Paul said passed understanding. When he lives in our hearts, he quiets the conflict between our spirit and the devil’s spirit. He replaces the devil’s spirit with his own Holy Spirit. And he give us peace.

But the gospel of Jesus Christ did not bring peace to the world like some think it should.

Any time Jesus is preached, there is conflict. That’s because people do not want to hear the gospel message. They do not want Jesus. Preach Jesus in Muslim countries, or Hindu countries or atheist countries and see what happens. Those who preach are imprisoned, tortured, beaten.

The world doesn’t want the gospel because the devil rules the world. The Spirit of God is not welcome in the world. And when it comes, there is strife.

Again, that is why Hollywood cannot make a decent Christian movie. They do not understand nor accept the Spirit of God. They see it as a danger to all they want to do and try their level best to stop it.

It is always a surprise to a new Christian when he gets push-back from his first attempts at evangelism. He many times cannot figure out why.

But you have to remember that Jesus not only got push-back, he got killed for doing what he was doing. The world thought they were getting rid of him and, when they try to stop those who teach him, they think they are stopping the gospel.

The problem is, of course (for them), is that the gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ cannot be stopped. It is immutable, it is unchangeable, it is unstoppable.

The sad thing is that you may lose your own family over it. But even though you may lose everything, you still have that internal peace. That peace he promises.

But don’t be surprised when the world hates what you say. They hated what Jesus said, too.

daily java

Daily Java:

 “From the least to the greatest,
      their lives are ruled by greed.
   From prophets to priests,
      they are all frauds.
 They offer superficial treatments
      for my people’s mortal wound.
   They give assurances of peace
      when there is no peace.  (Jeremiah 6:13-15)

The Nobel Peace Prize seems to me to be one of the most worthless things in the world. it has been given to person after person, and still there is war.

And not only that, there will always be war.

In the 1960’sand 70’s peace was the rallying cry. I wore a peace sign and flashed the V peace sign everywhere I could. Performers protested for peace, riots broke out in the name of peace, people sang about peace, dreamed of peace, imagined world peace.

And still the world fought.

The problem is that peace will not be realized in our lifetimes. It is not something you broker, or imagine, or strain real hard to get. Peace is internal. And if it doesn’t come from inside, it will not come no matter how often people talk about it.

The wars in the Middle East go back to the conflict between Isaac and Ishmael, two of Abraham’s sons. The hatred between the two groups has always been and always will be.

In our own lives and our own culture, there has always been fighting and always will be. Peace will not come until we all become children of God obeying him.

And even then, it may not.

In the book of Philippians, one of the most upbeat books in the Bible, written to a good church with a lot of positive things in it, there is a plea by the apostle Paul that two women quit fighting. Even though the church is going good, still there is war inside it.

Calling peace, declaring peace, mandating peace will not work. Peace has to come from inside or it is worthless, a sham.

It can only come through giving yourself to God. Anyone who tries to get it any other way will be doomed to failure.

daily java

Daily Java: 

But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. (Ephesians 2:13-15)

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Peace.

My generation placed a lot of emphasis on peace. We talked about it, wore symbols to show we were for it, we sang about it – peace was everywhere, on our lips, chests, posters. It was everywhere but in our hearts.

That is the problem. You don’t get peace by thinking about it or singing about it or even wanting it. You only get peace in your life through surrender to Jesus.

It sounds simple, to simple in fact. But it is true. That’s the thing. Sometimes the simple things are the answers. Sometimes we work so hard trying to get something when it is right under our noses, available if we would just reach out and get it.

And those who talked about it the most were generally the least peaceful. Their peace (if it were to be called so) came from outside sources – drugs, sex, others – and was only temporary. They were almost frenetic in their search for peace. They wanted it but looked for it, as the song said, in all the wrong places.

Peace doesn’t come through a conscious decision. It doesn’t come through government mandate, or everybody just getting along together. For one things, people do not get together very well even under the best of circumstances.

Peace processes do little or no good because the underlying conflicts and angers are still there. Just because two people sign a sheet of paper doesn’t mean anything.

Peace cannot come by laying down weapons. It can only come through laying down hearts.

It is only when we lay our heart at God’s feet and give ourselves to him that we get real peace.

And this is the real thing. It is the peace that remains even when the world about you is in tumult, when wars are raging and pain is suffered. It stays through troubles and problems. It is not something that is achieved by cessation of violence, but by sacrifice of your own self to God.

It is, to paraphrase a famous saying, not a cheap peace. It is achieved at the expense of your life. It is gained by the loss of yourself. And it is kept in your heart, where the problems of the world cannot touch it.

It comes from God and he alone can give real peace. And he will if you let him.

daily java

Daily Java:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  (John 14:27)

I really have never been a peaceful man. Some are naturally peaceful people. They are able to let things kind of flow off their backs. Not me.

I carry things around and think about them, I analyze myself and my motives until I have wrung out all of the good in them. I worry and I brood and all those things.

There have been people who tell me that I cannot be a Christian if I do that, that I must Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you (2 Peter 5:7).

While it is true that I give my cares to God, people who say that usually do not have the slightest idea what they are talking about. It is also not an easy thing to do.

My mind is, at times, a maelstrom of thoughts turning over and over in my mind, dealing with things that happened forty years ago and might happen tomorrow, that I have done or wish I had done, that I am thinking about for no reason – just a giant mental jumble. And sometimes it is overwhelming.

The apostle Paul was the same way. I don’t think he flopped off to sleep the minute he blew out the candle, either. He worried himself sick about the churches and situations they were in. But he still felt peace.

Paul wrote about his life situation in 2 Corinthians 11 and 12. A lot of bad things happened to this guy in the course of his ministry. And on top of it all, he writes, Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger? (11:28-29)

Yet it was also he who wrote: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Bad things can happen but you can still feel peace.

A lot of stuff to think about. I have had a lot of things happen to me in my almost forty years of ministry, both good and bad. That is not to mention all the other things that come along in life. Yet, as Paul said, there is a peace. Even in the storm, there is a peace.

It is not a smiley-lips peace, walking around looking stoned. It is a peace that is internal, that says no matter what happens, my God is real and he is alive, and there is a better place than this.

Knowing that brings peace, even when things are falling apart around you. That is the peace Jesus brought. Not peace like the world thinks, where nothing bad ever happens and we all stand around holding hands singing “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.”

But real peace from inside. That is God’s gift through Jesus to us.

daily java

Daily Java:

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18)

Real wisdom is evident. And you can always tell the source of wisdom.

What the world calls wisdom is more of an arrogant survival or knowledge. It is the kind of thing that makes the speaker look good, that advances an agenda in some way. It is more talk than anything else and tends to be gibberish after you look at it for a few minutes.

Real wisdom heals. It brings peace. It accomplishes something. It doesn’t just sit there in pithy phrases and make the one who advances it sound good. Sometimes, it can even be against the speaker.

Real wisdom always advances peace, even if it doesn’t seem like it. It was after all, Jesus who said he came to bring difficulty. In Matthew 10:34, he said: Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

It was the wisdom of God that brought Jesus to this earth (1 Corinthians 1). Yet the experience of Jesus is not always good. There is one third of the world today railing against him, killing people who believe in him.. there is no outward peace there. And there are those who say that the very bringing of Jesus into the culture is harmful and should be avoided at all costs.

Yet Jesus said anyway to go and preach the gospel to all creation, to everybody. The wisdom of God was to preach. To deny that is foolishness.

Real wisdom yields. It doesn’t set up little kingdoms based on men’s thoughts and charisma. It points to God. It is merciful and has good things coming from it.

Real wisdom is noticeable the moment it is seen. And because the world does not want to see God, it is rejected the moment it is seen and heard. The world does not want to see the wisdom of God because it points away from what it wants to do.

It brings us into his presence and into his love. And it causes good things to happen.

Real wisdom is beautiful.

irritated about everything

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)

Frustration is the key word of our society. We are irritated about everything.

One of the presidential candidates mentioned that she was a Lutheran and got blasted for not liking the Pope. A pop singer sang a song in a wheelchair and got blasted by a disabilities organization. One of our former presidents said he didn’t like broccoli and got blasted by the broccoli association.

No matter where you turn, you end up “hurting somebody’s feelings.”

Of course, many times, that “hurt” is nothing more than a political ploy or a guilt trip to get you to do what that person wants. But even so, it makes for a frustrated society.

And a frustrated society is not a peaceful one. It can’t be, because the waters are always being churned up by someone with an agenda.

The Christ-follower should have no agenda other than that of Jesus. Romans 13:8 says: Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

In other words, just do what Jesus wants and the other stuff will take care of itself. Quit trying to get people to do what you want and be at peace.

Rejoice, even when things are not going well. Be gentle in this mean-spirited world. Don’t worry. After all, what can worry accomplish?

Let God know what you need and trust in him to provide it.

And then, fill your hearts and your minds with decent stuff. The more you watch garbage, the more full of garbage you will be. Do things that are helpful, think about things that are good. Read good books. Listen to good music. Talk to good people.

Follow the example of those who love you and want the best for you. Choose to be peaceful. It is a choice you can make if God is truly in your heart.

And choose not to be irritated by what people do. They don’t do what you want? Big deal. They could probably say the same about you.

Then the God of peace will be with you. God bless you.

what is a picture of peace to you

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard, down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore. (Psalm 133:1-3)

What is a picture of peace to you? Now oil running down over my beard and on my clothing is not my picture of peace and harmony in the church.

It was then, however, and they thought it was great.

But what is your picture? What would peace and harmony in the church look like?
What would unity look like?

Would it be potlucks? Happy, smiling people gathered together around tables, laughing, joking, talking, kids running around, everyone reluctant to leave?

Would it be a long worship service in which everyone participated in some way? A song, or a prayer, or a word, or just a comment?

Would it just be the knowledge that when you went to church Sunday morning, nothing bad had happened throughout the week to the church? No splits, no arguments, no “doctrinal disputes”?

Whatever it would be, it was what the psalmist, David himself, said when he talked about his people being together.

The apostle Paul said: I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. (1 Corinthians 1:10)

Don’t argue, he said. Don’t dispute. Don’t help make that atmosphere of anger and irritation that is so surely a church killer.

Think about each other and the effects your words will have on each other. And do it before you speak, not afterwards. He said let there be no divisions.

In other words, there never has been and there never will be a good, valid, God-ordained reason for a church split. He said to work it out.

Jesus said: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13:35). It is not by our doctrine that people will know us. It will not be by the way we worship, or the tongues we speak or the prophecies we present or anything else.

It will be by the oil of our love and our unity poured out on the church, covering us with his grace.

The old song said, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” it has to start somewhere. Why don’t you be the first one to pour out the oil?

daily java

Daily Java: For to us a child is born,
        to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
   And he will be called
        Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
        Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

500 or so years before Jesus was born, Isaiah the prophet said that there would be a child born who would be the prefect ruler of the world. He would be one who would have the right amount of love, the right amount of knowledge, the right amount of wisdom – all of the attributes needed to be the perfect ruler. The hand of God would be upon him.

And he would bring peace.

But how is it that after 2000 years, we still do not have peace? Why do the nations of the world still fight? Does that mean that Jesus is not really who he said he was?

The problem with the kingdom of God is that it thinks in ways we do not. When peace was promised in the birth of the Christ child. It was not peace as we think, but internal peace.

People think that peace is the cessation of hostilities. But it isn’t. that is just a cease-fire. Peace is something different, something deeper.

Peace is what you have in times of war, something that sits inside you deeply keeping you from despair. That is what the angels told the shepherd when Jesus was born: that he would bring peace into the world.

You can have peace even though the world rages, even though all around you is falling apart. This peace is the sure and certain knowledge that God is with you and that he loves you.

It is, as the apostle Paul, no stranger himself to turbulent times, said: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

As Jesus said, there will always be wars and rumors of wars. That will never stop until Jesus comes again. But you can know that even in the middle of all of life’s carnage, you can still have peace.

After all, you are ruled over by the Prince of Peace.

That means that peace rules over your life. Let it do so.

trying to bring peace

In the last days
the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lordfrom Jerusalem.

He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:2-5)

This will never happen in our lifetime. It is for the Lord to accomplish.

A lot of the peace envoys quote this passage and see themselves as agents of the peace that comes by beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. They see their efforts as accomplishing this.

But we will never accomplish this. Only God will. there is nothing we can do to make this happen.

Yes, we can preach the kingdom of God, we can show people the grace of his mercy, we can talk about the greatness of the Lord – but we cannot make it happen, no matter how much we may want it.

And the actions of a few in having some leaders of countries sign some papers will not make it happen.

A UN official lately called on the world to quit being so materialistic and argumentative and said, in essence, “Why can’t we just get along?” the comment would almost have been funny in its naivete if not for the fact that the guy was so serious.

His idea? If we just quit wanting stuff and quit fighting, the world will be a paradise.

And he is right. It would be. But if it could have been, it would have been already.

It is in man’s nature to fight, to argue, to quarrel, to desire. That is his nature. We cannot overcome it. It is part of us. It showed itself first when Adam and Eve wanted some fruit so much that they fought against the will of God to get it.

From then on, it has been this way. and will be until God comes back. It is only he who can make things good. It is only the Mountain of the Lord, the House of the God of Jacob, that will do it.

He will judge, will settle, will teach. When his perfect comes, at his appearing, at his glory, at the end of all this that makes us so unhappy, then and only then will the weapons of war be laid down.

We can want it, but he will make it happen when he is ready.

Nothing wrong with trying to make peace. But we just have to remember that we cannot bring lasting peace. Only God in his time can.

real peace and peace symbols

I was looking at some girls’ belts in Target today, and I noticed that half of them had peace symbols for buckles.

I got to thinking about when I was in the army in the late 60’s, early 70’s. I wore a peace sign at the time.
I had a large one I wore under my uniform shirt. I guess I had the idea that if I were captured by the enemy (not much chance in Darmstadt, Germany) and had my clothing removed in preparation for torture, that they would see I was basically peaceful by nature.

Of course, they could also have thought that I was an idiot. I also had a peace sign ring that I wore on my right ring finger. It even had a leather band that quickly rotted so I replaced it with a shoelace.

It probably looked stupid.

I had those peace symbols for two reasons:
1,    It was cool in my peer group and
2.    I was a knucklehead.

When I went into the army, I found out pretty quickly that the peer group I liked were the heads. Heads, if you told them to, would leave you alone. Juicers (drunks) would slobber all over you anyway.

And besides, I like the drug culture music a lot. I have never really liked country western music. So the choice was not hard. I became a head. And if you were a head, you had a peace symbol.

I wore it proudly, and proudly pursued the head lifestyle, took my drugs, said Cool and Far Out and listened to Jimi Hendrix and all that stuff.

Of course, I was a knucklehead. The war in Vietnam was about more than just a bunch of fools marching in the street. It was about trying to save a group of people from Communist overthrow. The minute we left in 1974, the Communists came in and took over. The country is a totalitarian regime today. There is no freedom there.

All because a bunch of idiots wore peace signs.

It seems to me that the people who fight for peace are the bravest. They are the heroes.

The people, on the other hand, that protest for peace and wear all the paraphernalia are the knuckleheads. It is easy to stand back and protest. It requires no courage, because you know the Constitution protects your right to protest and the police really can’t do anything about it.

When Jesus said, Blessed are the peacemakers, he wasn’t talking about the peace protestors. He was talking about those who gave their lives in the pursuit of peace.

There are many ways to give your life to the pursuit of peace: you may be a missionary working in hard territory where you can’t even tell your friends where you are for fear of the government. You may be a preacher preaching in a hostile situation, trying to bring the grace of God to people. You may be a soldier fighting in defense of a group of people who are in physical danger.

Standing and occupying buildings, or shouting from a street corner, or throwing bricks in the name of peace or wearing giant peace signs – that is not peacemaking. That is acting and staging. Nothing more.

Peace is more than just a cessation of hostilities. It is more than getting people to quit doing stuff. Many times that is motivated more from cowardice that anything else, a fear of someone doing something to you. You ask for peace because it is easier than having to fight for it.

Ecclesiastes 3:8 says that there is a time for war and a time for peace. Sometimes you just have to fight, and sometimes you don’t. In speaking of the false prophets of his time, Jeremiah records the Lord has saying, They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace (Jeremiah 8:11). They were calling the wrong thing peace.

Jesus said that he came to bring something different than what we expected: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). He said also that the peace we sought was not going to come from this world or anything we do here. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

The apostle Paul said that people in the world do not really know what peace is, anyway. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes (Romans 3:15-18).

You want real peace? Ephesians 2:14 says that he himself is our peace.

Real peace always comes at a price. And that price is your life.

Peace, dude. The peace, that is, that passes understanding.

daily java

Daily Java: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.- Philippians 4:6-7.

Peace is not a readily available commodity today. People do almost anything to get it, from seminars to excessive drinking to just about everything. People want peace.

And it is natural to want peace. No one thinks it is normal to be in a constant state of fear and worry. That is because it isn’t.

We are designed to live in the love of God and to feel his presence, not to sit around wringing our hands in worry.

The Word says over and over to not worry. That isn’t an admonition to just “don’t worry, be happy.” Only an idiot would be able to do that. Only someone with very little brainpower would be able to just put everything aside and “snap out of it.”

It is not possible to just “snap out of it.”

That is because we are not able to do stuff ourselves. If we could, we would be fine in all parts of our lives.

The problem is that we cannot snap out of it. We cannot rearrange our own minds in any positive way. We can sure do it negatively, of course. We can worry ourselves into an early grave, into a massive bout of depression, into suicide.

But we cannot think our way to happiness. Only God can bring us into that state.

It isn’t magical or anything like that. It is just that we will not be happy, really happy, really content, until we have God in control of our lives.

Adam and Eve were fine in the garden until they took matters into their own hands. When they did, they ceased being happy and became worried and afraid. And we have never stopped.

The Christ follower has a peace that comes from knowing he is loved. And that peace is hard to explain because it comes from inside. It is the knowledge that God loves you.

That knowledge only comes from having God in your heart. It is not necessarily sudden or overwhelming. Sometimes it is just knowing he loves you. Sometimes it is knowing you are not alone, that someone greater than you cares about what is happening in your life.

He does care. Even when the storm rages, he cares. Someone once said, God never promised a smooth sea, just a good strong boat. You’ll get wet, but you will not drown.

daily java

Daily Java: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13.

Bob Dylan wrote a song that said, You’ve got to serve somebody. It may be the devil, it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna serve somebody.

It always struck me as really strange that Bob Dylan would write something that was so incisive. After all, he is not the go-to guy for theology.

But it is true. You are going to serve somebody in your life. The point is to make it God.

In the same way, you are going to be filled with something. It may be despair, it may be lust, it may be greed, it may be joy. There is something that will be important to you in your life. And it will fill you because it is important.

If God is important, he will fill you. And his filling will be with joy and peace.

Are your filled with fear? It isn’t from God if you are. Because 2 Timothy 1:7 says that isn’t from God. Power, love, self-discipline – those are from God. Lust? It is hard to even walk around the mall today without running against things that 50 years ago would have been pornography. The Spirit of God gives you the ability to replace that with peace.

Being filled with the Spirit isn’t magic, it is surrender.

You give yourself over to him and he fills you with what he wants you to be filled with. Leave him, and something will fill you. After all, nature abhors a vacuum and something is going to come in.

You are going to be filled with something. Your choice is what it will be.

You can be filled with God or you can be filled with evil.

Your choice.

daily java

Daily Java: The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.- Psalm 23:1-3.

This passage is so familiar that it can lose its power. We have said it and quoted it  and thought about it so much that after a while it becomes part of the theological background. Like other verse we are fond of – John 3:16, for instance – it becomes something that is more comforting and nostalgic than anything else.

In the hospital, it is one of the most read verses and many times, the Bible in the little chapel is turned to it. It has been looked at so many times in the hospital chapels that the page is stained and worn. The rest of the Bible will be in pristine condition, but Psalm 23 will be almost worn out.

The reason is because we are looking for meaning in our lives. We do not want to be alone.

No matter what atheists say, no one wants to be alone in life. Someone once said, there are no atheists in foxholes. That is because when the need comes, and it will in everybody’s life, we are desperate to know that someone cares for us.

The chapter is one of the most comforting in the Bible. It was never intended to be a theological treatise on the nature of God. Instead, it was written to tell us God loves us,and even in the worst of difficulties, he will lead us if we will let him.

He will not drag us by force, though. We have to let him. And that is hard, to give yourself over to him. That is why it is called faith. As Hebrews 11 says, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We cannot see God except obliquely. We see him in nature, in others’ love, in a lot of things, but only as a reflective quality.

Jesus said that no one could see God, but that those who saw him would see the Father. And if we are imitators of God, as the apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:1, we reflect him and his glory. If we reflect him, we also reflect the knowledge that he is with us and will guide us if we allow.

That is part of what people should see in us – the comfort in the knowledge that someone greater than we are is in control.

Under his guidance, we are at peace. The world rages, but the storm in us is quieted. Worry is checked and anxiety is rendered unnecessary. God is in control.