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For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.
Eph. 6:15-16
Peace and Faith. They go hand in hand. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t manufacture either one of them. I know because I’ve tried. And you can’t fake them either. I know.
As I sat in the middle of the floor, heaving and weeping uncontrollably, Tommy said, “Mom, where’s your faith? He’s going to be alright! I thought you had this great faith – what’s wrong with you?” Still sitting there, as I had been for several hours, I shot back, “I know, but it still hurts, and I’m afraid of what might happen to him! I can have faith and still hurt, and be afraid, and cry and be sad all at the same time”, I argued. And you can, and most of us do, for a little while. But if we have real faith, we will soon be calmed with God’s peace. A peace that passes all understanding, and makes no sense by human standards. A peace that comes when the light bulb comes on and we finally get it: God is in control and we can trust Him!
It was 1996 and we were going through one of the hardest trials I have ever experienced, before, or since. I am a Mama, and one of my sons was in danger. I was praying diligently, and studying God’s Word every day. I said to anyone who would listen that God was my strength and my hope. I said that I knew He would answer my prayer. Yes, it is very normal for a Mama to cry like mad in that situation. But for awhile there, I was inconsolable, acting as if I had no hope. But Tommy got my attention, because with God there is always hope! When we turn our eyes to Him, our Hope comes alive!
In my agony that day, I needed someone to come alongside me and bring God’s truth to my ears. And He sent Tommy. My daughter-in-law, Leigh was also there, and after getting my emotions a little more under control, I flattened myself across the floor, beneath our window that looks like a cross, and we prayed. And I remembered to Trust. And God heard that prayer. And peace started to flood my soul.
Faith is a deep belief that God is who He says He is, and can do what He says he can do. When a belief like that settles in, peace floods the soul. We will begin to walk in it and move forward again. Still sad maybe, still battling bouts of fear maybe, but also calm in the assurance that He really is God, and really is powerful enough to handle our crisis and our pain.
So, Faith and Peace are two more weapons God has given us to win in the war against the hater of our souls and haters of our family. So, let’s suit up today in shoes of peace, holding our shield of faith, and hang on to our belt of His truth. We’re gonna need it tomorrow.
Until next time,
Your Traveling Companion,
Brenda
photo credit: http://www.freeimages.com/photographer/umberto-30223
“Mr. Parker, may I go to the bathroom?” my friend asked. Walking towards the door of our 10th grade homeroom class, NJ looked sideways and grinned at me. But suddenly the grin on her face turned to a big round 0, as a loud gasp escaped from her lips. As she looked down at her feet, so did the whole class. And there, right before everybody, laid her bright red pettipants hanging around her ankles. And in our day people just didn’t show their underwear. The class erupted in shouts of laughter as Mr. Parker stood shaking his head at another of NJ’s crazy antics. The elastic band on said underwear had snapped and down they went, and my friend whose face was as red as her peti-pants, scooted out the door looking like Tim Conway’s impression of an old man walking, pettipants sliding across the ground as she went.
Well, if you are reading this on August 15, we should be in flight back to the U.S. Thinking back on the many trips we’ve taken during the past 7 years, I couldn’t help but to ponder the scripture above that I shared with you last Thursday. Especially in light of my cowardice concerning the ‘jungle”, I saw something I had not noticed before: