"The Pace of Peace"

"Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem." (Psalm 122:2)

  As if this could even be a thing? What on earth could it actually mean? At this specific time, I have no clue; but what I do know, for a fact, is that we must wait upon the LORD! With that in mind, I think it represents an attitude of the heart, where the heart learns to not get impatient or anxious, but in order to really truly experience peace, there is no timetable, no appointed time, except that which is of God. If you ever want to know what peace is not, try to imagine what it is like to think that God is going to do something on your time, and then keep moving the time based upon what you think He is doing. Talk about a heart that is a wreck; who can possible live with that kind of anxiety? Do you know anyone that might demonstrate that kind attitude? I can think of a few Bible characters that may have, at least once or twice in their lives. If only I could just keep pace with what I think God is trying to say, because the thing that I keep seeing, is that He keeps moving the goalpost; just when I think it is revealed, the why and the how moves just beyond my reach. Actually, that is a pretty good illustration of what this whole thing is all about. Instead of the focus being upon our feet, which is the movement and pace of our every day lives, the focus must be upon His gates, which represent the entrance or passage into His domain; a place where we absolutely get lost, yet where we are always found. If you were to ask the Lord, When will this all end? The Lord's reply is never going to be based upon a time; it will not even be based upon a reason. The Lord always works on purpose! What! How it works is not always the reason certain things are the way that they are, because God already know every reason. The most beautiful piece of art might have several layers of paint in some areas; the reason and the purpose are not always the same, not when you know exactly what the end of the artwork looks like. So, what, pray tell, could that possibly look like? I could think of a couple illustrations...

"The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent." So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for sighs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18-24) NLT