peace

Let not Your Heart be Troubled…

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. When I woke up this morning, my heart was inclined to be troubled, so I rushed out to greet the morning and meet with the Living God to set things Straight. The One who parted the seas and made the sun stand still is the One to calm my Heart and give me Heavenly Perspective for the Journey. It’s funny how each new day is unique in every way, and how one minute the Heart is at Peace and the other it’s inclined to be troubled. I don’t understand why that is, but I DO know what to do to set things Straight, and the season of a troubled Heart is short-lived in my Life because of Him. It’s not what we face that’s the biggest challenge…it’s HOW WE FACE whatever it is that matters the most, and there’s only One Way to face it all. Isn’t that the way it is with you too?

It can be so easy to “lose” a Day when the heart is troubled, and I can’t think of a better waste. Even one day being sad or mad or fearful is one day we can’t be of any Good Use to the King! When I wake up that way I get really busy really fast setting things Straight because I know it serves no Good Purpose and I know that a troubled Heart can cripple me…even if just for a day. Since each day has the Potential to add to the Kingdom, that’s a Price I’m not willing to pay! No amount of woes is worth that! Sometimes it’s not clear to me why my heart is troubled, and I wonder if I lost control of my thoughts…the kind of thoughts that can trouble a Heart. Sometimes I wonder if the night was filled with dreams of things that can trouble a Heart, even if I don’t recall them. Sometimes I wonder if my enemy is working overtime trying to discourage me in my Journey, and sometimes I wonder if it’s all the above. Whatever the “reason,” there is NO justification for a Child of the Living God to allow the Heart to be troubled because we have the Solution for Life! As long as we’re willing to rush to meet with the One to set things Straight, and we’re humble enough to do our Part by surrendering it all to Him, a troubled heart is Healed faster than we can say “Amen.”

I don’t like it much when my Heart is troubled with or without “good reason,” but I’m not too prideful to confess it to the One who loves me enough to send His Son to die for me. David’s heart was troubled many times, but David never hesitated to rush to the One to set his Heart Straight. Elijah’s heart was troubled, and he hit a breaking point because of it. Even though he didn’t have the strength to rush to the One to set his Heart Straight, the God of Compassion met Elijah right where he was. God understands when we get weary, and He understands when the Heart is troubled – and He’ll LOVE US OUT OF IT every single time BUT He won’t “coddle” us or let us off the hook when the Heart is troubled. Why? Because He already Knows that He is the Solution. He’s the Great Physician…the Bright Morning Star…the Author and Perfecter of our Faith…the Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. He’s the Great I am…the Alpha and Omega…the Beginning and the End. He’s the One that parts the seas…the One to scatter the skies in the heavens and to know them each by name…the One who made the sun stand still once and the One Who raised the dead. When you consider all that He is, why would we ever hesitate to confess a troubled heart and why would we ever accept less than Perfection?

I woke up with a Heart inclined to be troubled this morning, but it sure didn’t last long. I Understand the Journey, and I know where to go to set things Straight. I’ve been through adversity in my life that would rattle the cage of the strongest and bravest, and sometimes people question how I “survived.” No matter the problem, the answer is always the same. I rush to the One Who gave me Life and I do my part to get things Straight. I really CAN “do all things through Christ who gives me strength” He’s Jehovah Shammah (God is there) and I’m His child. When we Work Together, something like a little troubled heart won’t get in my way of Serving the King of Kings, that’s for sure!

How about you?

Peace Isn’t Stolen…It’s Surrendered Instead

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. By the time God turned the Lights on this morning, the fog was beginning to lift and I watched it slowly make its way over the mountain. There’s something peaceful about fog to me…the way it lingers…the way it slowly reveals what it was “hiding”. I give thanks for many things when I meet with the Living God – morning or night – foggy or clear – but one of the most prevailing Requests I put before His Throne, and one that I boldly Proclaim for my life, is Peace. When I have Peace everything seems to flow easily. When I have Peace I can handle it all. Having Peace doesn’t mean that everything is smooth sailing around me, and my Peace doesn’t come without effort. I WORK hard to guard my Peace day after day and year after year and I refuse to allow it to be stolen from me by anyone or anything. Maintaining my own personal peace is necessary for my joy and contentment but it’s more than that. I Know that if I can be a Reflection of Peace amid a world in absolute turmoil, then I can be a living, breathing example of my Faith for all the world to see. Without it, I’m a poor Witness of the God of the “Peace that surpasses all understanding.” Peace is non-negotiable to me. Isn’t that the way you see it too?

We can see the Spiritual War being played out right before our very eyes in Living Color and it would be so easy to surrender my Peace and get sucked into the battle if I didn’t know how to Guard what belongs to me (as the Bible defines it). The Bible tells me not to worry…no matter what. The Bible tells me that I’m protected by the King of all kings and that I don’t have to battle on my own so I don’t worry about the “boogie man” coming to my door to cause harm. The Bible tells me that the “righteous will never go hungry” so I don’t worry about a day when there is no food (or toilet paper). The Bible tells me to take His hand and to lean on Him so why would I try to maneuver through the land mines on my own? The Bible tells me that there will be “wars and rumors of wars” so I’m not surprised to see what I see around the world today. The Bible tells me that there will be “scoffers” in the end, so I’m not surprised to be hated for boldly speaking up about my Savior. The Key to Peace in a world at war is to Know the promises of God and to cling to the only Truth we really have. We don’t “lose” our Peace…we surrender it instead.

We live in a hate-filled world that refuses to live in peace because the battle we see cannot be rationalized or negotiated – it is the battle between Good and evil. Sadly many are being deceived just like the Bible says they will so they don’t recognize it for what it is. It boggles my mind to see professed Christians jumping into the fight and being so willing to roll around in the mud with the best of the Evil ones as if their voice can make the difference in the battle between Good and evil. But what they’ve been convinced is the “right thing” to do, the Devil finds very pleasing because immature Christians are so easily manipulated to participate in his agenda. There’s nothing like being blind to the enemy and falling right into his hands. Evil is fighting so hard to instill fear and to rob us of peace…and evil is winning plenty of battles because the weaker ones don’t know how to Fight and they are surrendering their peace at will. It’s not possible to lose Peace UNLESS we surrender it on our own b because we CANNOT be robbed of the promises God has made to each who Belongs to Him…period.

The Peace around this old farm is so thick it’s almost tangible, but it isn’t that way by chance – or because of the beautiful view or the character of the front porch – or because I’m “lucky”. Peace can be felt by everyone at the farm because I GUARD MY PEACE and the spiritual realm knows I can’t be robbed! I Proclaim my Peace to the Prince of Peace every single day, and I refuse to surrender it to the Devil. It always comes down to choice. If you start talking defeat in my presence I’ll correct you every time because I won’t let you surrender your own peace in my presence if there is anything I can do to stop it. But if you refuse to stop talking against the Victory we have in Jesus, it won’t be long before we part company because I know that if I entertain conversation that goes against Good then I’ll be vulnerable to all the ways of the wicked one too. I’m an Expert Peace Guarder!

I Serve the Prince of Peace and it shows. Peace is the Source of the Brightest Light of my Faith and the fact that I Reflect it in a dark work is the greatest Witness to the One I serve. In a land that is in turmoil and a future unknown, I guard my Peace like the Warrior I am, and my Peace can be seen AND felt all around me because of it.

How about you?

Don’t Let The Thief Rob You…

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I started out with a mind full of chaos this morning, and if I hadn’t Surrendered it all to the Living God, that mindset would have wreaked havoc on this new day from start to finish. Thankfully, I had my attitude Adjusted by the Author and Perfecter of my Faith and my mind full of chaos quickly became a Heart full of shame…shame for doubting and shame for waking up with so little Trust in a Mighty God. The scattered clouds in the morning sky were a sweet reminder to me of the battle that goes on in the mind – a battle only possible IF we allow the enemy to whisper lies of defeat…and we willingly listen. But when we DETERMINE to “take captive every thought” – to Focus on God Almighty instead of the chaos – all things come together to paint a beautiful picture just like the one God painted over the farm this morning. It’s when we determine to focus more on the Son than we do on the scattered clouds that we’ll find Victory and Peace in the chaos every single time. Isn’t that the way you look at taking control of the chaos before it takes control over you too?

It would be so easy to allow the circumstances of life to turn into mental chaos sometimes UNLESS I make up my mind to focus more on my Mighty and Merciful God than I do on the chaos. If I’m not careful…if I’m not diligent in battling my own thoughts and fears…I could easily spend LESS time in the presence of the Living God instead of MORE time when I need Him the most. I could easily begin looking for logic in the chaos and I could easily try to “fix” the chaos on my own. But that doesn’t make any more sense than it would for me to try to fix the clouds in the sky! The God of all Creation is the ONLY one that can do that and He’s the only Solution to chaos. It’s when I feel as if I’m in over my head that I force myself to slow down and I take the time to Refocus my Heart on the One who holds the world in the palm of His Hand. He’s the Heavenly diffuser of chaos! With Him I’m unstoppable. With Him I’m Victorious. With Him I am Strong. With Him, I can do ALL things. He’s the Wind beneath my Wings and the source of my Strength. He’s the Son behind the scattered clouds and He’s the Solution for the chaos. There is absolutely NOTHING I can’t overcome IF I put Him first and IF I take the time to strengthen myself for the ride by taking captive every thought. This is the key to everlasting Peace.

I may have hit the ground with a mind full of chaos this morning but I’m not the same woman now after my Time with Him. Nothing clears the chaos like a Firm Reminder of who I Belong to! I’M TAKING CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT just like He tells me to and I refuse to allow the liar from Hell to rob me of my Peace. After all, that liar can only get FROM me what I willingly surrender to him because he has absolutely no power over a Child of the Living God. The chaos in my mind hasn’t completely faded yet, BUT I have no doubt that if I keep doing my part to take captive every thought, it will be over soon and I WILL be Victorious. I don’t have all the answers for the chaos (yet), but I have the ONLY Solution for it all. My mind, my Heart, and my Soul have been readied for the ride and now I’m more focused on the Son than ever before!

How about you?