Peace indeed can be elusive, but when our priorities are in the right place, we find it becomes part of our lives without striving for it.
Peace indeed can be elusive, but when our priorities are in the right place, we find it becomes part of our lives without striving for it.
Matthew 6:34 – “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
I need to consistently learn this lesson over and over. How easy it is to get consumed with thoughts of upcoming events and situations that can create stress and anxiety, even though they haven’t occurred yet.
Isaiah 26:3-4 – You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you. Trust in Yahweh forever, because in Yahweh, Yahweh himself, is an everlasting rock!
The mind that recognizes it is dependent on God, that is established on and supported by the reality that God is above all, is a mind that can be at peace in any situation. The key is to have ultimate priorities in the right order.
Isaiah 26:8 – Yes, Yahweh, we wait for you in the path of your judgments. Our desire is for your name and renown.
Isaiah states it as ensuing that the name of Yahweh is honored and his glory is magnified in our lives. When we focus on those things, we can be at peace.
Yeshua taught that we should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (earthly needs that we stress out over) will be provided. If this is truly the case, then why should we worry at all about anything?
I think our stresses come in when we not only desire to have our needs met, but to be met in a certain way of our own choosing. We may define our “needs” as a certain income level, or type of work, or place to live. When those things aren’t evident in our lives in the way that we would like them to be, we somehow think that God isn’t able to meet our needs. In reality, we may have unrealistic expectations about those things, and God is not obligated to meet our desires when we trust in him, only our needs.
Yeshua taught that we should seek not only God’s kingdom as a priority, but his righteousness as a part of that kingdom. Righteousness is the ability and practice of doing what’s right in God’s eyes. I believe most of the struggles we face may stem from our own internal recognition of not living lives consistent with the righteousness of God. We see conflict with what we say we believe and what we actually do, and this can cause an underlying tension, slowly and methodically eating away at our peace.
However, when we do seek first his kingdom and righteousness as the appropriate priorities, and when we seek to honor him and magnify his name as his representatives, his children in this world, it is then we can take our focus off of the unknowns of the future or the missteps of the past to spend our attention and energy on today. When we realize that each day is a gift that is given to us (because we have no ability within ourselves to guarantee any type of future at all), then we can be better stewards of the time that we do have each day. This is not to say we should not plan for the future at all, but that we should not spend the majority of our time stressing over what has not even occurred yet (or may not occur at all) at the expense of honoring God with the strength we have today.
Striving for peace is almost the surest way to ensure it ever eludes us. However, striving for God’s kingdom, honor, and glory day by day brings a peace that slips in unnoticed, yet radiates down to our core. It is then that we are whole.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Every believer in the God of the Bible has a challenge to remain earnestly seeking God.
Every believer in the God of the Bible has a challenge to remain earnestly seeking God.
In the Proverbs, the Wisdom of God is personified as a woman at the gates of the city, shouting to those who pass by and encouraging those who would seek the favor of God to come to her.
Proverbs 8:34-35 – Happy is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from Yahweh…
The waiting and watching has a continual emphasis; it’s as if the wisdom that comes from God is not something that can just be picked up in a Tik-Tok video or a smartly worded meme. It requires diligence and effort with an ongoing commitment to the truth, regardless of how long it takes.
King David famously expressed his deep desire and continual longing for God.
Psalm 63:1 – O God, thou art my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where no water is.
Hidden within the simple phrase, “I seek you” is the Hebrew root word shachar which means to painstakingly rise up early in the morning, earnestly seeking the fulfillment of a task. David likens this desire for God as a critical thirst which cannot be quenched, ever needing to be satisfied.
The prophet Isaiah similarly exemplified this shachar type of seeking as he strove to keep a connection with God through the watches of the night and into the dawn, implying an impassioned search while others slept.
Isaiah 26:9 – I long for you in the night; yes, my spirit within me diligently seeks you early, for when your judgments are in the land, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Isaiah adds that as he was to faithfully abide by God’s commands, they would become evident to others, and through his love and faithfulness the world would learn righteousness.
By contrast, the Psalmist illustrated how those among the unfaithful Israelites in the wilderness had not remained firm in their faith, and how they had forgotten the One who had delivered them from bondage.
Psalm 78:8, 36-37, 40-42 – … a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God. … But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant. … How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert! They tested him again and again, and provoked the Holy One of Israel. They did not keep in mind his power, or the day when he redeemed them from the foe…
Seeking after God is a continual process, and one that must be cultivated regularly and routinely in order to bear fruitful results. Truly seeking after God is a deep-rooted passion that is all-consuming. It cannot be quenched with a one-minute Bible lesson or a quick prayer for safety as one heads out the door. Any worthwhile relationship takes time to build and to nurture, and this must stem from hearts that yearn to be connected to each other.
Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations…
Romans 5:5-6, 8 – …God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly. … But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Messiah died for us.
God has demonstrated his steadfast covenantal love and simply asks that believers return their love to him with equal and consistent passion.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
Regardless of our own abilities or resources, our ultimate trust in all things should be in God.
Core of the Bible podcast #83 – Real peace is generated by trust in God
Today we will be looking at the topic of trust or faith in God, and how, regardless of our own abilities or resources, our ultimate trust in all things should be in God.
Philippians 4:6-7 – Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
This verse has been very popular over the years due to its simple admonition to prayer and its promise of peace of a troubled mind.
But rather than focus on the peace it provides, I would like to draw out another unstated concept present in this verse: trust in God. You see, peace can only come when there is an understanding that something, or someone, larger than our current troubling circumstance is handling the situation, and we don’t need to be anxious about it. This is why prayer is effective, because we are giving over situations that are beyond our control to Someone who has all control.
I think about when I was a small child, riding in the back of our car on a trip home from visiting relatives. I had no concerns about which roads we had to take, how much traffic there was, what the weather conditions were. My dad was taking us home, and that’s all that mattered. I would inevitably drift off to sleep with the rhythmic motion of the car and the road noise. I had no cares to concern me, only knowing that I would be home at the end of the trip. I trusted my dad to get us home; I had no reason not to trust him to do so.
When I became a dad and our family was on road trips to visit relatives, it was up to me to take all of those factors into consideration, since I was responsible for getting my family home safely. My role as a dad had increased responsibilities, but even with those responsibilities, my skills had grown to meet them. Certainly, I had to focus on things that I was not concerned about as a child, but even though I had to manage all of those concerns, I still had an over-arching trust that we were going to make it home. Regardless of the right route to take, the traffic, or the road conditions, we would be home soon.
Yeshua famously taught his disciples about trusting in our heavenly Father for all of their needs.
Matthew 6:31-32: ““Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “
He encouraged them not to do what the nations around them would do which was earnestly seek after every opportunity to improve material gain and wealth. This is not a situation unlike today in which we find ourselves living among a culture that is obsessed with materialism. This is why this topic of trusting in God can be such a challenging topic for us today. It’s because, at least in our American culture, we are constantly fed a steady diet of information that says we must be successful at all costs. That definition of success is typically wrapped up in nice houses, fancy cars, and investment income.
All my life I have wanted to be independent and be able to create my own source or sources of income to support myself and my family. Even if it wasn’t possible at any given time, it has always been in the back of my mind that I would like to accomplish that level of independence. I’ve always thought it was just the way my brain is wired, but lately I have come to think that it may have more to do with exposure to our culture than it does with any independent streak I may have in my personality. It does not appear to be an uncommon desire in our current culture.
Yet here I am with kids almost grown and over 25 years with my current employer. Thankfully, we currently have more than enough to meet all of our needs, even though at times it was a struggle as we were raising our family up. Through it all, my wife and I have always trusted that God would provide for our family, and he has graciously done so.
Does that mean that I didn’t have to do anything, and God would simply pour resources into our lap? Of course not, I have had to work very hard to provide consistency in my job, sometimes working nights and weekends as needed. But I have had a strangely long run with a single employer which is becoming less and less prevalent as the years go by, and I find that in itself is an unusual provision in these challenging times.
You see, trust in God is not an abdication of all responsible action; it is a recognition of power or skill beyond your own that will ultimately accomplish the outcome. That trust can be present at every skill and responsibility level. When we pray about everything, we are demonstrating that our trust is not in our own abilities or resources, but in God.
Isaiah 26:3 – You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.
Trust in God also involves being flexible. In a moment we will look at various aspects of flexibility that should also be evident in the life of a believer who is trusting in God.
So far in our examination of this topic, we have reviewed trusting in God by praying about all things. We have also looked at the efforts that are still needed on our part to accomplish even our most basic needs.
Beyond these basics, another aspect of trusting in God is remaining flexible. Many times, we may believe we are headed toward a desired outcome when God has something totally different planned. This is not always a negative thing, but it may require a pivot in our thinking and expectations.
Back to the example of the responsible dad who is safely taking his family home from a road trip, we can glean some application by looking at various aspects of that situation.
For example, we need to be strategizing our desired route, but not to the exclusion of allowing for detours along the way. Perhaps the expected route home has become unavailable due to a crash ahead or construction that has blocked off access. In these instances, we need to be able to take the time to think rationally around the obstacle in order to continue making progress toward home. When we perform this exercise, many times new opportunities in previously undiscovered ways come to light.
For example, I have a typical way I commute to work every day but in times of heavy traffic I have begun to rely on digital mapping of my route to find the quickest way around the traffic as needed. Some of the alternative routes at times of heavy traffic have yielded much more pleasant ways of getting to the same destination. This is one way in which remaining flexible can yield new opportunities when we trust God’s direction.
Psalm 119:59-60: “I considered my ways, and turned my steps to your statutes. I will hurry, and not delay, to obey your commandments.”
Being obedient in those times can yield new experiences and more fruitful results.
We also need to be considering traffic and road conditions but remain open to having to modify our plans accordingly as needed. Perhaps we begin to encounter snow, heavy rain, or dense fog which prevents us from seeing clearly. In these cases, we may need to simply pull over and wait it out until more favorable conditions arrive. Sometimes God has us sit quietly and wait for him until we can receive further instruction.
Psalm 40:1: “I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry.”
Isaiah 33:2: “Yahweh, be gracious to us. We have waited for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.”
These periods of waiting for God can be excruciating, especially for those type A’s among us. But these times can also provide needed rest when we are over-stressed, or they can cause us to focus on other needed things that may have arisen unexpectedly. Remaining flexible says that we are trusting that God has a reason for the unintended delay.
At other times, God provides guidance through or during the adverse condition or situation.
I can recall a true-life story about a couple driving home on the interstate when they became trapped in a white-out snowstorm. Unable to see the road, they simply pulled over, but they also knew that if they remained stationary too long, they would become trapped as the continuing snow deepened. Praying about their situation, they soon realized a snowplow had arrived to keep the freeway clear. They were then able to get back on the freeway and follow at a safe distance as the road was being plowed for them by professionals who knew the way and had the resources to clear the snow. They were able to safely arrive at their exit and complete their journey.
Psalm 25:5: “Guide me in your truth, and teach me, For you are the God of my salvation, I wait for you all day long.”
Psalm 73:21,23-24: “For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart. … Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand. You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”
God’s guidance still involves us to follow that guidance, just as the couple had to get back on the freeway to follow the snowplow. But when we are faithful to his statutes, we will find he has provided a way through our predicament, and all to his glory.
In summary, we need to be faithful with what we’ve been called to do, but we need to always keep a higher sense of trust and dependency in God beyond our own abilities and actions. When we pray for the outcome according to God’s will, we can rest assured that regardless of any modifications along the way, everything will come to pass within his purpose and timing.
This is where the peace that passes understanding comes from: it is generated in the recognition that God ultimately has us, regardless of what happens along the way. It is beyond our understanding, because only he knows which route we will ultimately have to take to get there. We should always maintain a healthy understanding of the limits of our abilities and be sure our ultimate trust is in the One who can bring us safely home at the end of the trip. Yet, if he has other plans for us along the way, plans of which we had no idea or had even considered a possibility, our trust in him will provide the confidence needed to operate in these unfamiliar areas and terrain.
This is what it means to walk by the Spirit. Yeshua taught:
John 3:8: “The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don’t know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.””
Paul reiterated this dependency on God when he wrote to the Galatian congregation:
Galatians 5:25: “If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.”
Therefore, if we live by faith in the God of the universe, let us also walk by faith that he can and will guide us within his perfect plan and purpose. This can provide real peace because it is not based in anything that can be overturned in this life, but it is based in the One who holds all things in the palm of his hand.
If you enjoy these daily articles, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
The contrast of our fleeting lives with the eternity of God should keep our trust and our focus firmly grounded in him.
Core of the Bible podcast #69 – Trusting God beyond our own lifetime
Today we will be looking at the topic of trust, and how the contrast of our fleeting lives with the eternity of God should keep our trust and our focus firmly grounded in him.
Isaiah 26:4 – “Trust in Yahweh forever, because Yahweh God is the Rock eternal.”
God deserves our trust because he never changes. What he has decreed will come to pass. What he has done remains forever. What he continues to do is as constant as the ocean surf, the shining sun, the starry constellations.
Psalm 33:11 – “The counsel of Yahweh stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.”
The psalmist here instructs us how stable God’s counsel is, it outlasts generations and continues on. Have you ever taken the time to consider how incredible a thing it is that the counsel of God survives over thousands of years? Though culture and language have taken their toll on the outer layers of biblical thinking, the core of the message remains to this day, and will continue on. This in itself is a miraculous occurrence.
Throughout this unchanging counsel of the Bible, by contrast the life we have been given is represented as a fleeting and temporal existence.
James 4:14 – What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Psalm 89:47 – Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
Psalm 144:4 – Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.
Job 8:9 – For we are but of yesterday and know nothing, for our days on earth are a shadow.
Psalm 103:15-16 – As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.
Psalm 39:4-5 – “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!”
This recognition of our own mortality should drive us closer to God, not farther from him. Because we understand we are so temporary, we should seek to latch on to those things that are eternal, that reach beyond our short time that we have while we are here. Our thoughts should run in step with those of the psalmist:
Psalm 90:12 – So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
When we “number our days,” we are considering the short time that we have and the vain things we spend so much time on. Our lives can be unstable and variable as we flit from passion to passing trend. We waste time, energy, and passion on so many pointless and fleeting distractions that we arrive breathless and strained at the end of each day. We rave about the most popular people and issues of the day, while ranting about individualized injustice and personal misery. Like Job of old, we come to view our lives as a constant, unfair struggle that deserves to be broadcast to the widest possible audience:
Job 19:23-24 – “I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book, by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever.”
The fallacy of this type of thinking is borne out even in the conclusion of Job’s story: his fortunes are restored, his honor is retained, and the eternal justice of God is exonerated. Therefore, we should recognize that the eternal nature of God stands supreme over the petty and temporal issues and circumstances we face. Like Paul, our lives should be molded toward that which is eternal:
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
When we really pause to consider that God is eternal and we are not, how can we possibly think that our ways are better than his? Have we learned nothing from the natural course of life, how the wisdom of the aged is more stable than the impetuous passion of youth? If this is true in a natural sense, how much more with the One who never changes for all of eternity?
Within this idea of the fleeting nature of life we may be challenged as to what, then, we should spend our time doing. What kind of goals should we set for ourselves when we have such little time to accomplish what we would hope to do? And can we maintain those goals in any sort of consistent manner? As an example, I happen to be an employee of a large national corporation here in America which sets its goals year by year and quarter by quarter, and those goals are constantly changing. But because of this type of constant change, I find the perpetual stability of God’s word to be of great comfort.
I remember reading of some Japanese institutions which have existed for generations who do their best to lay out 500-year goals for their companies! Can you imagine such a thing? In fact, it is said that more than half of the oldest companies in the world are in Japan. As of 2020, there were over 33,000 Japanese companies that were over 100 years old, there were about 40 companies that were 500 years old. The oldest company in the world is also Japanese; it is a construction company that has been in business for over 1,400 years. A lot of this longevity has to do with the culture of the working class and the mindset of the employees who rarely change jobs. The overarching ideal is for stability of the company through the stability of its employment.
By contrast, our American culture has almost the exact opposite mentality. While some institutions have survived for long periods of time, overall, employment stability is rare, if not non-existent. And this lack of stability in employment leads workers to change jobs frequently in order to cope. It is said that the average American worker changes jobs between 12-15 times throughout their working lifetime.
But what if, as believers, we were to take a lesson from the eternal nature of God and some of this understanding of the Japanese culture by considering objectives in our lives beyond just our lifetimes? Remember:
Psalm 90:12 – So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
What if we had 500-year goals, not for an earthly company, but for God? Since he is unchanging and eternal, and if we were to line our goals up with his, we could be able to create a solid planning strategy that could extend well into the future. “Well,” you may say, “that’s impossible, because we won’t live to be 500 years old.” True, but if we were to consider the impact our life can have beyond even our own lifetime, how would that change what we do each day?
Think of the cathedral builders who recognized they were working on a project that would not be completed for decades or even over a hundred years. They worked every day as a link in a chain that they knew could extend beyond their working lifetime. If we had even the slightest inclination that our work would be progressively built upon after our departure, how would that affect the effort and quality we would put forth?
I stumbled across a story recently written by Jim Stephens on leadership, where he shares this kind of principle in the context of effective life-planning. He writes the following:
“My mentor once asked me for my life plan. I didn’t have one. He made me go home and not come back to work until I had my plan down on paper. After a few days I returned to work and handed him several pages. He asked me why my life plan only went 50 years? (At the time I was 27 and I figured that was a pretty good life plan.) He said, ‘Don’t you get anything?’ I was thoroughly confused. He asked, ‘Why set goals that last only as long as the body?’ He said, ‘Don’t you realize you are a spiritual being who HAS a body? And, if that’s true, why not set 500 year goals for what will be going on in the world as a result of when you had a body. At the least,’ he continued, ‘set 100 years goals, figuring that you will leave a wake on this company, your family, your community and your church much like a boat leaves a wake behind in the water when it passes.'”
I like that imagery of a boat leaving a wake behind it that continues outward behind it. When we can get out of our limited mindset of the-most-important-thing-right-now to the most important thing to an eternal God, our perspective changes, and our scope of influence changes radically. Our life now becomes a life of faith, because we are having to rely on others and situations outside of ourselves, and strength and wisdom that comes from God. When we consider ways we can pass the baton of the faith not only to the next generation but the one beyond that, we re-structure the priorities we have currently to affect that end result. Sometimes the biggest way to grow our faith is to simply change our perspective.
As we have seen, the Bible is filled with references to the temporary nature of our lives on this earth. By looking beyond the scope of our own lifetime, we can see that the God of the Bible is eternal and unchanging, and the more our plans and goals line up with his, the more likely the things and people we are involved with during our time here will carry greater meaning and lasting influence.
Ultimately, we are encouraged by the prophet Isaiah to trust in God if for no other reason than simply because he is eternal. We need to allow God to be God, and to recognize that we are not. When we do so, we can then have clarity through the settling dust of our temporary existence to see him for who he is, and place our trust and our purpose where it really belongs: in his gracious, unchanging hands.
If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive on our Podcast Page, at Core of the Bible on Simplecast, or your favorite podcast streaming service.
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