"Peace Like A River" - 3

Great News my Brothers and Sisters; There is yet another thing that the Peace our Lord gives that is like a Mighty River: Still Waters Run Deep! That's right: How Deep is His Love for us? How Great is His Protection over our Souls? There is simply no way to measure how much He cares for us! If you have ever been River Rafting you would understand this simulation. When the river is shallow the current is very fierce and dangerous; it is apparent from far off that you are heading into a really rough ride. When we are seated in Christ Jesus, although the ride may seem very rough and tosses us to and fro, He has us in His Mighty Hands; those hands that bear the scars of what He did on Calvary. He will not let us go, nor forsake us; and it is that assurance we have in Him that gives us peace through the fiercest of rapids. Then like a mighty calm, we are through the rapids, which are like the trials we face in our lives; and when we come through them, our relationship with our Lord is deeper than ever before, with a soothing peace that is almost tranquil. It is in these times of tranquil peace that we feel the His Breath; hear His Voice; and can even see His Face as we just Rest in Him. In Psalms 34: 11-14 David declares a Psalm of Deliverance, and within these few little verses, God packs a powerful punch to something that many times holds us back from experiencing His Peace: "Come, ye children, hearken unto Me: I will teach you to fear the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace , and pursue it." I am sorry, but it is really true that sometimes when we are going through something which we can not handle, we have a tendency to want to pull others along with us. It may not even seem to us that this is happening; and many times it will not even be apparent to others, even those that we are pulling. But it is our tendency to speak ill of others as we are being persecuted; as if to bring others down will somehow make us feel a little better in our suffering. This is not good, and really causes our conquest for peace to be that much further from us. God's desire for us, is that we would seek peace and pursue it, especially through the times where we may feel attacked and persecuted. Those are the times of our testing, and during them we are to be vigilant to obey what God has instructed us in, no matter how much we think that others are to blame for our suffering. "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel (your name) say; If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. (Psalms 124)