The rest stop was full. But I’d driven as far as I could for the day. I have to stop somewhere. So I parked on the shoulder of the off-ramp.
I was exhausted. A little bit of winding down, and sleep came pretty easily. The noise of the traffic going by hardly reached my ears. But now I’m awake, the sun is coming up, and the noise gets louder and louder. It’s hard to believe that tires on asphalt can be so loud.
I know there’s a measurement called decibel. But I don’t know how to quantify that. If I hear an explosion I know that it’s a lot of decibels. If I hear a whisper, indeed if I could hear a whisper, I’d know it was very few decibels.
I sit here thinking about my family and all the people who rush about everyday. I wonder if there is a decibel measurement for anxiety. I’m thinking about the anxiety called desire, or greed. While the world sleeps, there’s a few who make those anxious noises. But on the whole, it’s barely more than a whisper in this world. If greed wasn’t quieted down during the night no one would sleep.
Then I wonder something useful. Does man even know what peace is? Only Adam and Eve knew peace. Apparently that didn’t last very long Days, months, years, decades, who knows? I don’t know for sure, perhaps it lasted more than a hundred years. But once peace was gone, it is as though it never existed among us at all. And the proof of it’s leaving lay in the ground with their son Abel. And the proof of their realization ran down their cheeks as tears. Peace was forever gone, replaced by something new – horror.
Greed’s particular name that the time was Cain. But his mindset goes about in this world today under the use of a billion different names. Now, all we know is murder and chaos. But you could easily refer to all of us as Cain.
Cain committed the first murder; The taking of life from his brother. But I have committed murder. Haven’t I taken away hope from hundreds of people? In that sense, haven’t we all committed murder?
In those days I was not peace and I did not know peace. But ignorance is no excuse is it? Once a life is shattered, how can any words of Man (or excuses) fill the void? Whatever hope of peace and trust there was I ripped away with a rock called greed. I guess we could say there’s a murder of death as well as the murder of life. The latter, by the way, is legal in this place.
But let’s get back to the theme here .
Peace is an individual. He withdrew from this place because of sin. But he is peace. He is not disturbed by the death of Abel. And he is not disturbed by this wasting disease called sin. And he is not disturbed by the volume of noise greed makes in this wicked place. He is not disturbed by what we do. In the blink of an eye he will shut it all down. But he is very concerned to come and give us peace. He is very concerned about teaching us how to stop murdering life.
We may get some quiet time from here and there. But do we know He who is Peace? I asked that because even while I sit among all this increasing noise, my soul is not disquieted. My body perceives the chaos. But my soul is in his hands. Where does your soul find itself today? Do you know Peace?
Tag Archives: Anxiety
War and Peace
Peace, peace?
All my days are thankfully rude; that they may keep alive in me the necessity for holy conversion.
Go seek peace, if that is your desire. I will rather to enter the war of Christ against myself. That He may bestow upon me (come that immeasurable day) PEACE which escapes me now.
By His Grace
From Trauma to Glory
Birth is no easy experience. Neither is death to be desired. Yet once birth has happened, death is inevitable. In between the two is an innumerable number of choices to be made. But for what purpose?
Pain calls our name. Toil and heartache know where we sleep. Adding to the difficulty of life, the expenses of pleasure call from every corner.
There is nothing profitable about pleasure. Everytime we take a break from toil and heartache, we lose something valuable; money, reputation, preparation, and resources. Yet we justify it by saying, “I just need a little rest. Then I’ll be stronger”.
But no sooner do we get back to our toil and heartache and the entire pleasure becomes a forgotten matter. All we have left is memories, pictures, souvenirs, and wasted time. Yes, even the pursuit of pleasure is toil in itself.
You might be thinking I’m just a stick in the mud. But you know that what I’m saying is true. From front to back, and everywhere in between, life is full of difficulty.
People do everything they can to remove the rough edges of life. But even as they rub them smooth, the smoothing quickly breaks loose and sharp edges reappear.
This world has a singular design for humanity. It is designed to teach God’s people to endure through faith. The wicked heart will strive to find pleasure here. But God’s righteous elect will keep their eyes firmly fixed on his Holy promise.
The wicked will have their tumultuous pleasure. But the people of God will find pleasure in pleasing the Living God’s Christ.
Christianity recognizes that this place was sufficient to test the Holy Son of God. And here is where I mention that he is a very example God’s elect must follow.
Did the Lord shrink back from righteousness? Not once. Did he seek to use his body for pleasure? Again, not once. He did nothing but what his Heavenly Father told him to do.
Did he take a vacation? Did he chase after money? Did he lie or cheat or steal? He did not seal up his mouth, for fear of Man. He did not cease to pray. And if he had any knowledge in this world, it was the entirety of what is called the Old Testament.
There is our example.
Consider the outcome of his life. He is now firmly fixed as first in all creation. Now allow yourself to ponder the outcome of mimicking his life.
Who is man, that God should send His Holy Son as a sacrifice for our sins? What is it the righteous elect are to inherit? How can any pleasure in this world compare to what God has in store for those who love him?
Psalm 82:6. While you’re at it, consider the outcome of satan’s choice. Ponder the meaning of the differences between Christ Jesus and the one condemned to destruction.
By His Grace
Fear
Of all the things that man can perceive, there is but one truth. The Holy Christ of God has given himself for the salvation of every man, woman and child who ever lived.
As we believe this we are set free of every wicked thing. We are set free of fear; the greatest enemy of man. Who can fear anything if he knows he has eternal life?
Because of fear, men turn to all manner of wicked and abhorrent behavior. They invent their own religions. But every religion of man is full from top to bottom with fear.
By fear, men subject one another for the sake of wicked gain. But it is impossible to subject the one who believes.
“Christ has died for my sins. Nothing you can do to me can take that away. Though my body shake with anxiety for the coming pain, my soul is that perfect rest. For when you are finished applying what torture you may envision, I will go and be with he who has died for my sins. How should I fear? What can man do to me? When in comparison, Christ has given me eternal life.”
A Christian believes this and is saved. Anything less than this is not the fullness of Christ within us. Anything less than this is worthless religion.
By His Grace
Scissors and Worms
The righteous man walks carefully down the wet slippery alley, holding his scissors points down. The moisture has brought out the worms. And hardly a step can be taken without sliding.
The righteous man does not run with his scissors. Nor does he eat the worms. For he remembers the words of his parents, and strives diligently to obey.
Yet behind him is a clamor. And not a worm is left in sight. With their eyes stabbed bloody, bellies full of wiggly things, and the cry of complaining anxiety, the wicked urge him to run and eat.
Blessed is the man who loves to obey God. He will see with clarity. And he will eat of the finer things in the land.
But cursed for eternity are those who love rebellion. They close their own eyes forever. And they feed themselves on those which will feed on them.
Choose you this day whom you will serve!
By His Grace
“I Am God”
Peace, every human wants it. But not a single one is capable of grasping it.
In the struggle for peace:
Some try to fill their lives with their desire; amassing to themselves all manner of trinkets. With what commerce they own they purchase peace.
Some use anger to control the world around them; driving others away, lest desires clash.
Many turn to drunkenness, sexual immorality, and drugs; subduing their perception of reality lest they perceive anxiety (Peace eluding them once more).
Most turn to a form of religion; encasing themselves in a structure of belief in God mixed with social righteousness. They find they have the acceptance of man, but they are still void of the acceptance of God. Peace eludes them even while they reach to grab.
Still a few turn to a life of obscure devotion to an obscure god; wasting away with self abuse for the sake of the god they make in their mind. The fruit of the peace they seek is death itself. A wasting death, void of peace, and filled with anxiety.
There is nothing on the face of this planet, nor all creation, that can give peace. If man makes it, or has anything to do with its production, it is immediately laced with chaos. The very peace they seek is wasted by their own efforts to attain or produce it.
True peace must come from a place of perfect Peace and Truth. This entire creation is but a shadow of that place. At our very best we can only manipulate lies to form what we call truth. Because of that, anxiety is king over all humanity.
It is written in the Bible, “Then they will know that I am God”. I never really grasped the full meaning of that until now. Yet by the very definition of Truth, can I say I have grasped its entirety? (I write this while I am on the earth. I have not yet arrived in heaven.)
God the Father, His Holy Son, and the Holy Spirit; these are Peace. They are from eternity and they are life. They alone are Truth, for the Father alone is Truth.
Peace is given not contrived. Unless we receive what He offers, we will have no peace at all.
And let a man rebel against God’s commands, while he is in the process of receiving, he will find peace removed from him by degree. With the stark difference in his soul, the man will perceive the words, “Then they will know that I am God”. (Let the reader understand, I am writing this from experience not conjecture.)
Anything that is extended can be retracted or cut off. Anything that is given can be removed. For the one who has given is more blessed than he who receives.
It is fortunate for the Christian, that what he has received is regulated by perfect loving wisdom. The very purpose of the regulation is to “draw” the Christian to Truth.
If this article provokes anything, let it be this: anyone who is drawn to Truth must go where Truth lives. God alone is True.
It is in this drawing that we begin to understand the words, “Then they will know that I am God”. If you seek Truth, with diligent and humble heart, you will come to understand those words.
Read what God said through Ezekiel. “I will turn you around and drag you along. I will bring you from the far north and send you against the mountains of Israel. [He who struggles with God.] I will strike your bow from your left hand and make your arrows drop from your right hand.” (39: 2,3)
God himself will lead us to himself, and this through Christ Jesus His Holy and Righteous Son. Anyone who is drawn to God will lose his own perception of truth. In its place, Christ Jesus becomes King. Progressively, chaos is decimated.
It is not possible for man to manufacture his own peace. But True Peace comes with a price. The cost of redemption has been paid. But the cost of Truth is very steep. A man is forced to pay everything he has.
Who, among God’s people, is willing to pay that price? I suggest to you there is not a single one. But it is God who comes to us all to give what we are neither willing or able to pay.
God provides the place where understanding of these things is far more than academic. It gets quite personal! Isn’t that what he means when he says, “Then they will know that I am God”.
By His Grace
Words From There 