Skip to main content

Joy Among Sorrow

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Today I am sad as I think about my mom.  I saw her obituary in the paper and thought to myself, "Becky Teel is in heaven."  It seems so surreal at moments.  This scripture is exactly what's going on inside of me at this time of grief.  As we've said all along, there are two words for this journey, peace and sadness.  It was complete truth when Jesus spoke the words, "I do not give to you as the world gives."  Jesus left us in order that he could completely give himself to us.  What an amazing gift!  He has given us his peace, which comes with so much more than just calm.  His peace is a tranquility in upheaval, understanding without explanation, joy among sorrow, love out of pain, quiet in the midst of chaos, and  it's all perfectly personal.  The peace of Jesus transcends all earthly circumstances and reveals the final victory to its recipient.  I may be sad, but I am not troubled, nor am I afraid.  I am at peace.  Jesus holds my hand as the Spirit leads me onward.  I am sad some days, but I have been given the peace of Christ way down in the depths of my soul.  Mom is well and she is impacting the world, even though she is not here.  God is pretty darn awesome that way.  :-)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blessed Assurance

Romans 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth , nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. This verse just makes me want to shout, "AMEN!"  But isn't it frustrating how Satan knows exactly where to hit us to make us doubt?  And then he is so good at kicking us while we are down.  I, unfortunately, had this experience very recently.  I was feeling a little worried about a particular situation and then Satan pounced and made me feel like an enormous loser.  He was feeding me lies that he knew I would believe, because they are the same lies I always fall for.  Thankfully, I was able to spend some time with God in quiet solitude.  I was reminded that no matter what Satan throws at me, I will never be separated from the love of God because I have Christ Jesus...

Mercy and Compassion

Jude 22-23 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. This is something I have struggles with, loving those who frustrate me.  How can we be merciful to those who are "corrupt" without being judgmental?  It is definitely not our place to judge one another, it is our place to love one another.  Sometimes loving the people who are rude or cruel is the hardest part of being a Christian.  My humanity would like to judge people for their behaviors and choices and lash out at them.  I believe we are only able to show true mercy and compassion for others when we accept these for ourselves from Jesus and then He lives them through us.  Allowing God to change our hearts in order that Jesus' mercy and compassion shine through is a journey.  It's not always easy.  On those difficult days, I remain quiet and ask God to love on me, so I...

His Strength

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. I was prompted to read this verse and it was perfect for today, of course.  All of Psalm 100 is praise to God.  For me today, I am praising God because He was faithful in something He had revealed to me a while ago.  Let me explain.  Have you ever asked God for His strength?  Not just strength, but His strength.  This is something that I was prompted to do about a year ago, not to just ask for strength in general, but to specifically request His strength to be given to me.  I know it sounds a little like a bit of rhetoric, but keep reading. In requesting God's own strength, I have noticed something tremendous has happened each time.  When God bestows His strength within me, it is so much more than just endurance.  His strength comes with clarity of mind, lightening of the spirit, and a depth of inner joy that cannot help ...