Let me lay some context down first. Have you ever had those times in life where everything just feels chaotic? Maybe you cannot put your finger on one specific thing that is the issue, however you do feel as if something is just off. Maybe it is due to worry or anxiety, or even fears or failures. Maybe the uneasiness in your heart is coming from small compromises we have made with our convictions that are beginning to add up. Or maybe times when the enemy is just attacking you in a tangible way. Whatever the case, we all know when our heart is not at peace. And that has how my heart had been feeling coming into April. Not in a terrible place, but chaotic and desiring a peace. So I desperately prayed that the Lord would be my peace and calm my heart.
As we came into Thailand, we were greeted by a woman named “Peace” and she was our contact to drive us to our host. She bought our meal (which is a big deal) for us when we stopped for lunch, and I thought she might be incapable of not-smiling. Once we got to the girls’ orphanage here, the 35 girls stood in a gauntlet formation to greet us. These girls range from 4-18 years of age, and all are either single orphan (missing one parent) or double orphan (missing both parents). I could tell they were nervous, especially when all us handsome guys (mainly myself) emerged from the back of the truck. But that did not stop them for greeting us warmly. Shortly after we had dinner and then worship, which they attend every night at 7 (year around). During worship they all gave us World Racers flowers, sang for us, and finished by a Jesus skit. Little did I know the best was yet to come. At the end of worship, all 35 girls came and individually hugged each one of us goodnight. My heart officially melted and I knew this was going to be a good month.
Let me get back to the point though. Although the orphans are awesome, the staff here is hospitable, and the mountainside is beautiful, I know that these things cannot be the source of our peace. Sometimes when circumstances in life appear favorable, it is easy for us to be ‘happy’ or ‘excited’. However this is whimsical and temporary and can dissipate as easily as it arose… because it is based off of circumstances. As much as these sweet orphan girls melted my heart, I knew I had to pursue the Lord first. I’m not going to have good morning/good night hugs and games and worship with these girls the rest of my life. Therefore they cannot be the source of my peace. I have to go take my heart and lay it at the alter (non-Christian terms, spend time alone with the Lord in complete surrender).
Being on the side of a mountain, naturally I have found a lot of cool paths that lead deeper into the heart of the mountain. One morning I had been reading Psalms 23. Let me just quote the first 3 verses for you before I proceed… Shall I?
Psalms 23:1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul…”.
As I was walking that day just talking to Jesus, I took a different path. I came across a pond just beyond a grassy meadow looking area. “This is the kind of scene I would see in a movie”, I said to my self. As I came to this pond something amazing began to happen. The Lord began to calm my heart and give me peace. Unlike the other things that we say give us ‘peace’, this was the foundational peace that only the Lord can provide. the “Peace that surpasses all understanding”, the peace that can say “bless the Lord oh my soul” despite unfavorable circumstances. The peace that only comes from intimacy with Jesus Christ himself. I still have a long way to go, and God is still working heavily on my heart. However, the Lord is “making me lie down in green pastures” and He is “leading me beside still waters”, and He definitely is “restoring my soul”.
My challenge for the audience, where has your peace gone? Are we mistaking happy circumstances and good busy-ness for ‘peace’? Peace comes only through intimacy with Jesus. When I start to lose my peace I know I need to slow back down and refocus my heart completely on Him. Even in the midst of me doing ministry every day here on the Race, I have to fall in love with Him first, or else it is not possible for me to sincerely love others.
Psalms 37:4- “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”.
My challenge: slow down and go spend time and fall in love with Jesus every day. Your heart and it’s desires will change, and you will have the peace of the Lord.
