Hope, Healing & Freedom Podcast: Episode 201
TRANSCRIPT
I made the mistake of watching the news before going to bed the other night, and I had a struggle going to sleep. My mind was filled with thoughts of the conflicts that are going on in the world today. There is the conflict in Iran. There is the conflict between the Democrats and the Republicans. There is the conflict between good, and evil seen on our city streets. It is no wonder I could not sleep. I was reminded of a lesson I learned a long time ago. What you put into your mind will affect the way you sleep, or in my case, don’t sleep. Today we are going to look at how we can remain in peace even when the circumstances around us are in turmoil.
I’m Lee Whitman from Restoring the Foundations and I welcome you into this Hope Healing and Freedom podcast. The bible talks a lot about peace. You might even say it is a topic that God is very concerned about. I love Isaiah 26:3 that says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” I received a phone call from a longtime friend of ours the other day. They told me a horrible story about their 22-year-old child. This child had been almost idyllic during high school. They were part of the Young Life Christian organization on their high school campus. They were very involved in the church youth group. They were near the top of their class academically. They did not give their parents any reason for alarm. All that changed when they went away to college. This child went off the deep end and got involved in everything their parents tried to keep them from. They started drinking and taking drugs. They got involved in numerous sexual relationships. They eventually dropped out of college and began living with some friends in what can only be described as chaos. The parents were devastated and did not know how to handle this child. It got me thinking about how people like my friends can experience the peace that God gives, even in the midst of this horrible situation. Is that even possible?
In this podcast I am going to talk about the kind of peace that God can give, even in the midst of a situation like my friends are going through. Let me start this topic by saying that I don’t know anyone who is walking through difficult circumstances that is going to walk in God’s peace perfectly. I know that might sound a bit negative, but I want us to be realistic. I believe there is a mindset in the body of Christ that we are going to walk out everything that God has for us without doubt or wavering if we just have enough faith. That mindset is simply not true. We are all human and we are going to have human struggles. I love how honest the bible is with us. In 1 Corinthians 2:3 the Apostle Paul says, “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.” This is the guy who wrote most of the New Testament letters, saying that he experienced weakness, fear, and much trembling. If one of the greatest Christians of all time experiences those things, why do we think we have to live this life perfectly? God doesn’t take our humanness away, but rather He wants to live through our humanness.
The kind of peace that God gives is not anything like the peace the world gives. In John 14:27, Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The kind of peace the world desires is the absence of conflict. In our ministry one of the lies that we see on a regular basis is this: The perfect life is one in which there is no conflict. That is an absolutely wonderful belief. What a great world it would be if there were no conflict. To have no conflict would mean that no two people could have differing opinions, because when there are differing opinions, then by definition, there is conflict between those two opinions. If everyone would simply believe the same way, then there would be no conflict and life would be perfect, right? How boring would that be? Differing ideas add spice to life, but they also cause conflict. Jesus says that the peace that He gives is not based on there being no conflict in life, but rather in the face of conflict, we can be at peace. I love that. So how can my friends experience peace in the midst of the storm that they are walking through? The only way I know is by living from Isaiah 26:3 which says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” I remember when Cindi and I bought our first house. We had never bought a house before, so there was a lot of anxiety in the process. We were going to borrow a lot of money to buy this house. The house only cost $55,000, but at that time as a young couple, that was a lot of money. So, I went to my Dad for advice. He was able to explain the process of obtaining a mortgage, how to get the house inspected, and what neighborhoods would be a better choice than others. I was able to be more peaceful about the process because I trusted my Dad. It is much the same way with trusting God with the unknowns of life. The bottom line is are we able to trust God even when we can’t see how things are going to work out. For my friends to experience some level of peace, they are going to have to work at having their minds stayed on Father God and not on the decisions of this child. Jesus says in John 27 “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” To be very honest, this is one of the teachings of Christ that I am not sure we will ever do perfectly. How do you not let your heart be troubled? Your heart and your emotions react to situations that are going on in your life. When you get that phone call in the night about your child, your heart and emotions are going to react. I don’t think you can help it. But as you fight through the fear and anxiety by focusing on Who God is and how He can give you supernatural peace, then you can come back to that place of peace. Recognize that Jesus said my peace I give to you. It is not something you have to work up. It is a supernatural gift from God in the midst of your storms of life. How you receive that peace is up to you. You have to turn your thoughts onto your Father God by offering your circumstances up to Him and asking Him for His peace. This does not deny the circumstances as though they don’t exist, but rather we can find a place to give our negative circumstances to Father God, knowing that He is a good Father who can give us what we need to walk through that situation. We trust Him over our circumstances, and in doing so, we can experience peace in the midst. When you face a circumstance that is causing your fear and anxiety, you can actually get alone with Father God and give Him those negative feelings. Hand Him, so to speak, all of your negative feelings one by one. Then ask Him to come and heal your wounded heart. As He is healing your heart, ask Him what He wants you to know about that circumstance. You will be amazed at what He will say to you. It always causes your heart to be at peace because you can trust Him with the situation, even when the circumstances are still unknown. We have mentioned in previous podcasts that Cindi and I are walking through some unresolved health issues. Cindi had to have major surgery on her back two years ago, and her back is still causing her daily pain. Her doctor does not have a solution, which frankly is causing us some fear for the future. So, we are practicing this lesson on a daily basis. We give our fear and anxiety to Father God and ask Him what He wants us to know about her back. Almost always, He tells us that He is our provision and that He has our future in His hands. Does that make the pain go away? No, but it brings peace knowing that He is a trustworthy Father who will give us what we need to walk through the future.
There are some in the body of Christ who have been taught that once you get saved, the Christian Life is smooth sailing from then on. In other words, you will not have to face these kinds of difficult situations. I want to say definitively that is absolutely not true. Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I once again love the fact that God does not try to trick us or deceive us. Jesus tells us that in this world you will have trouble. That is actually good news because when the trouble hits, and it will hit all of us in some fashion, then you will not be surprised. 1 Peter 4:12 from the Passion Translation says this, “Beloved friends, if life gets difficult, with many tests, don’t be bewildered as though something strange were overwhelming you.” I know that my friends will have to fight through the idea that something strange is happening to them because of their child’s decisions. But the bible tells us not to be surprised because in this life there will be trials. Our hope is not in the kind of peace the world gives, which is the absence of conflict, but rather in the midst of conflict, we can be at peace because our peace comes from God.
Before I end this podcast, I want to talk about a very important verse. OK, all verses are important, but this verse has to do with our peace. It is Romans 12:18, which says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you. Be at peace with all people.” This verse starts by saying “If possible” which automatically carries the meaning that in some situations it might not be possible. If possible. Then it goes on to say, “so far as it depends on you”. I believe we are to do all we can to be at peace with all people. However, all we can do is our part. If the other person does not want to live in peace, that is not up to us and peace with them might not be possible. This is a really important verse concerning our peace. Most of us want to live at peace with everybody; in fact, we feel like we are doing something wrong when we are not at peace with everybody. We have subtly been taught a type of Christian co-dependance which says that it is my job to keep everybody happy. Let me again say bluntly that it is not your job to keep everyone happy. That is God’s job. You job is to “If possible, be at peace with all people.” My friends need to understand this vers as it applies wo their child. Parents have to provide healthy boundaries that at times will not make the child happy. It might not be possible for them to have peace with their child if that means letting the child continue to make very bad decisions.
I am going to end this podcast with maybe my favorite verse about peace. It is Philippians 4:7 which says, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Notice what this says. There is a peace available to you that surpasses understanding. In other words, even in the midst of chaos and trouble, like the situation my friends are going through with their child, there is a peace that God gives that doesn’t make sense. It is a peace that is unreasonable. Then this verse goes on to say that there is a peace that is available to you that will guard your heart and your mind. The word guard in this verse literally means to guard or protect by a military guard. When we submit our wayward thoughts to our Father God, He give a kind of peace that puts a military guard on our hearts and minds. That is really good news. We don’t have to live in fear and anxiety no matter how severe the circumstances that come your way. You can receive a type of peace from Father God that will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. I want that and I believe that you do too.
PRAYER
Father God, I thank You that You give us peace that as Philippians 4:7 says, “Peace that passes all understanding.” Father God, would You show us anything that is getting in the way of us experiencing Your peace.
