True peace

Those who love your teachings will find true peace. Nothing can make them fall. (Psalm 119:165)

True peace is different from what the world offers through its various self-help, or self-care. We might 'retreat' to the mountains, take a beach trip, or just veg on the back patio for the weekend, but all the 'self-care' won't restore our soul as much as Christ will when we lean into him. Some will proport that if you find something within yourself that brings you joy, that joy will burn out the pain in life. I suggest that if your joy is found in Christ and him alone, your pain will be 'burned out' by his healing touch and nothing else!

Fall in love with the teachings contained in God's Word and you are well underway toward finding true and lasting peace. It is the peace that isn't found in circumstances, but in his presence. Nothing can make a man or woman of God fall - although the temptation still remains to compromise. That temptation doesn't 'make' you fall - it lures you in wherever you are the weakest. Satan's ploy from the very beginning of time was to exploit the weaknesses of the individual. Shore up those weak areas, not through self-care or self-actualization, but through the blood of Christ!

We learn to love the teachings of God the more we are willing to trust what he says. The Word of God can be relied upon - God even challenges us to 'test the spirits' and see what is true (I John 4:1). God never tells us to latch onto some scripture just because it agrees with an opinion we hold. We may think some scripture is hard to comprehend - even wanting to avoid it all together because we simply cannot make sense of it. ALL scripture is God-breathed and 'good' - even the 'hard stuff'. We might just need to ask God to help us understand it, learn the context of it, and find a good study that guides us into deeper understanding.

The Word of God brings peace - even when it brings conviction. That may seem like a contradictory statement to some, but God's Word always produces the best in us, even when it brings us to a place of repentance. Whenever God uses his Word to bring an 'end' to something in our lives, he is simply bringing us to the place where we will find the new beginning we so desperately need. In turn, we are renewed, reenergized, and recommitted to the pursuit of holiness. Just sayin!