My Heart... His Words

Psalm 34:14b

"...seek peace and pursue it."

When I sit and read just this little tiny snippet of a powerful chapter, God is trying to tell me so much.

First of all, I think He's telling me that peace isn't something that is always easy to find...

But it is something that can get easier to find when I put forth a little effort.

Have you ever played "hide and seek?" Everyone except the person who is "it" goes and hides while "it" counts to 100. Then the ones hiding sit quietly in their secret places trying not to make a peep.....even their breathing becomes shallow and their body becomes tense....as they listen for the footsteps of "it."

One by one, "it" discovers each hiding place as he/she witnesses even a small sign of life within each area. Maybe a shoe is sticking out. Maybe an arm. Whatever it is, the secret place soon becomes "not so secret" as "it" moves through the rooms "calling out" the hiders.

The longer you play hide and seek in the same area, the easier it is to find the people hiding because those once-secret spots don't seem as secret anymore.

I think "peace" is a lot like this. When we are seeking peace for the first time after having gone through a time of "no peace," it is very difficult to discover where that peace may be hiding. But the more we learn to seek peace with purpose, the easier it is to find!

I have found that peace can be hiding right under my nose.

Maybe it's a few minutes in the car in between errands when a powerful song comes on the radio. My neighbor Sandra has gotten use to seeing me pull into our driveway and then sit in the car for a few minutes as I finish listening to a favorite song. She knows I have found a little peace behind my steering wheel with my van door closed.

Oh, music speaks such peace to me.....thank you, God, for Christian songwriters!

Peace can be found while pushing a child in a swing. The rythmic movement of the child as he/she comes towards you and then moves away can be enough to remind me of the faithfulness of God, His promise to be the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. In this thought, I find great peace.

Oh, children and your simple pleasures.....floating through the air....up and down...back and forth....thank you for reminding me that God is just like You.......always moving but never changing....thank you, God, for speaking even through a child's fun.

Peace can be found on a walk as the breeze gently blows through the trees speaking God's whispers of love and devotion. It's almost as if the trees are saying, "God made me, and I love Him....."

Oh, I love to hear the wind blow through the trees. This sound brings me peace. Thank you, God, for pushing air along through Your creation so as to stir our senses.......

Stirring us to feel Your peace.

Immediately after reading that God wants us to "seek peace," however, He goes on to say, "pursue it."

This doesn't sound as relaxing as a simple game of hide and seek where I can mosey through life looking behind couches and in dark closets.

This sounds more like I might be moving quickly towards something that is trying to get away!

As if I am in pursuit of something.

And doesn't that make sense to me if I think about the world I am in?

The devil has no desire for me or you to EVER feel God's peace....

So why wouldn't I expect him to do anything he could to keep me from catching up with the peace I so deeply desire.

Olivia's little group of friends have decided that the "peace sign" is their friendship sign....they want peace in their friendships, peace in their lives.

I think that is a great idea!

Because of this, Olivia is attracted to anything she sees that bears this symbol.

Today, Olivia and I had the chance to go

shopping with my mom. I was amazed at how the peace sign is EVERYWHERE....on clothes, jewelry, purses, socks, EVERYTHING!

As we were paying in one store, I said to the worker jokingly, "Peace is popular!"

She replied, "This year it really is."

As I walked away I thought about the times we're living in.

Gunmen randomly killing people, wars, drugs, the economy, our nation's morals.........

So many things that seem to have chased away our peace.

I do think God knows that it is going to take more than seeking it most days.

We are going to have to pursue it!

What will that involve?

More than just saying, "I wish I could feel peace." More than just listening to a song, or pushing a child in a swing, or enjoying a cool breeze.

No, it's time to get serious about truly pursuing peace. Praying for it. Praying expecting it. Reading God's promises about it. Memorizing God's promises about it. Claiming it. Sharing it. Falling back in it even when it doesn't make sense.

Peace is powerful

God's peace doesn't make sense to those who do not know Him.

So if you have it, others will notice it........

Because whether they believe in God or not, they cannot deny that "peace is popular!"

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