Welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well. We're delighted that you've joined us again this week and Suzi, I've been thinking about different things and now that I don't preach on a regular basis, a lot of these thoughts just get kind of put down on a piece of paper for when and if those times come when I do get to preach. but I put down some thoughts a while ago that have stayed with me and I titled it the search for peace.
because I think that's one of the things that we all long for in our world and not only in our world, we long for in life. I mean recently there's all kinds of struggles all around the world. world that where there's a lack of peace and but I'm thinking more from an individual standpoint and the verses in scripture that point us in a direction and I'd love for us just to talk about it some this morning in Isaiah 26 Isaiah says you keep him in peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you trust in the Lord forever for the Lord is an everlasting rock. He keeps him in peace but my mind needs to be stayed on him. What I need to talk about what that looks like, but then it says here's the condition because he trusts in you.
I
verses 3 and 4 of Isaiah 26 and you know, you know, the idea that I need to trust him. He'll give me peace. He'll keep me in peace. and that's a desirable thing for me probably for a lot of us to trust in him. and he'll give me a piece. But then that doesn't always seem to become practical maybe.
Yeah. You know, and gosh, we are stubborn deaf people, all of us. maybe you're listening to this, maybe you've been listening to Struggling Well, and we so appreciate that. But I know for myself, I can hear a great message, I can listen to a great podcast, hear a beautiful song. with all the things that my heart yearns for. If it's speaking about peace and rest and, you know, trusting God and somehow I don't know why this happens. Maybe it's cuz our flesh is pretty strong still and alive and well, but oftenimes when we experience, something that is unexpected is when we lose peace. And unexpected is all the time. I mean, for me, it's all the time. I like today when I woke up this morning, I was asking the Lord to guide my steps and what I do and what I say and who I talk to. But I know and you know, babe, that something unexpected will happen today. I mean, it could be a minor thing, but it will be something that wasn't on my mind. And I think about people that have maybe experienced health issues, marital issues, financial issues, whatever. They've been through a rough time and you know, they're they've gotten through that rough time and then somehow that a similar rough time comes up again and it's like, "Oh my goodness, I' I thought I was done. I thought I was one and done. God brought me through a tough time and here I am again." And I can think back to a number of years ago, and this is kind of old, but it came up today in my heart, so I'm going to take it from the spirit of God. Years ago, I had trouble with my eyesight. And we were driving home from Birmingham, Alabama, and the signs were wavy, and the I couldn't see out of my right eye at all and I thought it was my contact, my glasses. I didn't know what it was. It turned out that I had a hole in my macula. That's not the story. Got taken care of. This is great. A few years later, I am riding back from Kerry, North Carolina, and I noticed that same thing again, and my first thought was no. No. And I went to my favorite place, which is denial. And I stayed there long enough to go, "No, it I must have something in my eye." I mean, it was unexpected. certainly not something I wanted again. And so, I found myself trying to navigate through this and figure out how can I handle this? Because to be honest with you, the last time I was in that place, and this happens with regularity, I handled it. I really did. I it didn't occur to me to ask God's help. It didn't occur to me to ask him to heal my eye. because basically this I mean this is where my mind went. I still got one good eye. I'm good. So God thanks. But you know I can make it with one eye and then this happens on the other eye and it puts me in that place of no no I cannot make it. There's nothing I can do here to handle it. And there was no spare eye. And it brought me to this place of repentance in my confident independent I can handle this mindset and let God be God. you know, I've never been suited for the job of handling my life, but boy is it a struggle. And I would imagine that those of you that are listening go through the same thing. When you come into a difficult spot, your inclination is I got I've got to figure this out.
Yeah. And so I think Suzi, that's a great point. So I think I as I read further about the idea of peace and the idea of the struggles, the unexpected that we come into. Jesus says in John 14, so the disciples are with him is just before he gets crucified and he said, "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you." Then he says this, "Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
And that's one of the things I think that surfaces in the midst of struggle that knocks peace out. if we let it we get fearful or we get afraid we get troubled we get upset and Jesus is saying no I'm giving you my peace
and there's is that tension that we'll face of leaning into who he says he is and what he says he provides versus what our natural inclination is which is to be afraid or to be troubled
and it's his peace
it's his peace
it's not like he doesn't I don't know if this makes any sense. he doesn't take whatever I have that might look like peace and blow it up into his peace. It's him,
right? And it's not necessarily based upon the circumstances turning out the way I want them to turn out.
it's based on who he is.
and so then Paul says in Philippians, be anxious. Don't be anxious about anything,
but make your hearts or guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Those are those things, troubled, fear, and anxiety.
Yeah.
They all battle against the peace he promises to give when we trust in him. And it's an ongoing u it's not a one-time thing where you get victory over it or you have success with it or you overcome it or whatever. it's an ongoing issue that we face between the world we live in, the life we live, the unexpect expected things that come into our lives and
what he promises.
You know, I think when I was younger, I was arrogant enough to think I could handle a lot of things. Not just my own things, but as with you being in ministry to handle a lot of issues at church, thinking that I guess just the way God wired me, I could walk in and help with the situation. The older I get in Christ, not just chronologically, but the older I become and hopefully more mature in my faith, I realize that apart from him, I can do nothing. I really can't do anything.
Right? And so it's that how do I take that into my everyday living? Because again, not every day of life, but it sometimes will feel that way that there unexpected things that come that present themselves as challenges, their difficulties or struggles or things that would rob the circumstances that would rob any sense of peace that I have.
So how do I take that and translate that into those many unexpected things and look to him and let him be the one I have my peace in.
Is it okay for me to jump in here and say this one thing
because I'm jumping anyway.
Is there's that tension between I feel it while you're talking. The tension between be anxious for nothing, but in everything give thanks. So there's that place that I want my heart to be. I'm not anxious, but then there's the human part of me, the flesh part of me that goes, "Oh, you better be anxious. You need to give up for this. So there's that rub between those two things. And I believe that with this Holy Spirit living in us and us allowing him access and more access to our heart, our mind, our will, everything that the don't be anxious part becomes more characteristic of us than the crazy walking around with a chicken with their head off.
Yeah, it's it definitely is a challenge. And again, you know us. Those of you who are listening, if you don't, I'll give you this revelation about us. There are there's no formula here. There's no A plus B equals C. A plus B equals peace. It comes with a mindset that you know, if you go back to Romans, you want to see transformation because the renewing of your mind
that gets lived out. And it's that mindset that says, "No, I'm going to fight against I'm gonna let the spirit of God fight against the inclination for me to run to what my natural response would be.
Mhm.
And I'm going to trust God.
Yeah.
It goes back to that Isaiah verse. You keep him in peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.
Yeah.
And so it's really facing the difficulties. Not saying they don't have there's not an emotional reaction to it. I don't like difficult things. None of us do. But can I trust him? Because That's really where the peace comes from in trusting him versus the circumstances are going to work out the way I want them to work out.
And these, you know, a lot of words. We've said a lot of words this morning, but they're not just words. This is truth. And we have a decision to make every day and every moment just about will I say yes. God, you are in control. You know everything about this situation. I put my full measure of trust on you. you and I will let you be God and me follow what you say.
Yeah. So, as we as you listen to this and you say, "Oh, that's not possible." No, it's difficult. I'm not saying it's easy, but that's what it means, I think, to follow him, to find peace in the midst of circumstances that don't warrant peace. They're troubling. They're upsetting. But, but do I trust him? Do I trust the one who's saying, "I will keep your mind stayed in peace. You'll be in peace if you keep your trust in me. We hope that's something you'll wrestle with this week and in the days to come in your life. Have a great week.