Reminders
Searching for a little peace today.....I am drawn to the end of the book "Forever...Why You Can't Live Without It" by Paul David Tripp. I know I have quoted this book so many times, but it has really spoken to me. Today, it did so again. I'd like to share 3 of the six forever guarantees he presented in Chapter 13.
"1. The future grace of eternity guarantees me present grace.
If God has promised that I will live with him forever, then implicit in that promise is the reality of all the grace I need to face what I will face in this fallen world until forever is my home. I don't need to fear people and situations, because grace will be supplied for what I am facing when I face it. I have always believed in the gift of God's grace, but after my eyes were opened, I had new and life-changing appreciation of the now-ism of that grace. Today I can face life with courage, not because I am able, but because I know I will always have the grace I need to do what God has called me to do. As I quoted earlier when Peter wrote to suffering people he captured this grace with these words:
"By God's power [we] are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
1 Peter 1:5 ESV
If you are God's child, Peter is writing this promise for you.
2. The guaranteed end of the story secures control over my story in the present.
Understanding that I was not responsible for writing my own story nor able to do so was a relief, By grace the grand forever story had become my story. My job was not to control people and situations with the anxious hope that somehow things would work out. I came to rest in the fact that even when I don't understand my past, present, and future my life is secure because I am held in the hollow of the hand of the one who control all three. In the midst of the harsh realities of life in a world that does not operate as God intended, I can grab hold of the fact that my tory will have a glorious end. God's control over his story is so careful and personal that the apostle Paul says:
"[God] marked out their ["their" here means us] appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands."
- Act 17:26
3. Final peace guarantees the presence, power, and provision of the Prince of Peace in the here and now.
I grew up in a house that had little functional peace, and I became a man with little internal peace. Like many others, I looked for peace where it could not be found (in situations, locations, and people). But peace is not something I have to wait for until forever is my home. The promise of future peace guarantees the presence of the Prince of Peace in the here and now. He could never guarantee me eternal peace if he abandoned me along the way. I came to realize that the lasting inner peace I had lacked for so long was not the result of the ease of circumstances or the love of people, but was mine because the Prince of Peace had invaded my life, and I could rest in his care even in moments when I didn't have a clue to what was going on. When it comes to peace, I think many of s are searching for what we have already been given. As Jesus was leaving earth, he said to his disciples,
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid."
- John 14:27 "
Wow. I hope this speaks to you as it did to me. I have learned before, but being the slow person that I am I have to constantly be reminded, that my peace will NEVER be found in things or people. The moment I look for it in these things, I am heading down a road of despair and hopelessness. No one else even has the CAPACITY to provide us that peace. If we place our hope and peace in another person, they will ALWAYS fail us. Because, quite simply, God never intended for us to place our hope in anything or anyone other than Him. When we do that, we are automatically setting ourselves up to fail. Every time.
I long for a perfect life, a great situation, wonderful relationships with others. I want everything in my life to be great.....no problems....no heartache. Unfortunately, that has never happened and never will. So in order to have that peace I so desperately need, I have to look for it in one place. And in One Place only.......the arms of my Savior. I just need a reminder now and then.
"1. The future grace of eternity guarantees me present grace.
If God has promised that I will live with him forever, then implicit in that promise is the reality of all the grace I need to face what I will face in this fallen world until forever is my home. I don't need to fear people and situations, because grace will be supplied for what I am facing when I face it. I have always believed in the gift of God's grace, but after my eyes were opened, I had new and life-changing appreciation of the now-ism of that grace. Today I can face life with courage, not because I am able, but because I know I will always have the grace I need to do what God has called me to do. As I quoted earlier when Peter wrote to suffering people he captured this grace with these words:
"By God's power [we] are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
1 Peter 1:5 ESV
If you are God's child, Peter is writing this promise for you.
2. The guaranteed end of the story secures control over my story in the present.
Understanding that I was not responsible for writing my own story nor able to do so was a relief, By grace the grand forever story had become my story. My job was not to control people and situations with the anxious hope that somehow things would work out. I came to rest in the fact that even when I don't understand my past, present, and future my life is secure because I am held in the hollow of the hand of the one who control all three. In the midst of the harsh realities of life in a world that does not operate as God intended, I can grab hold of the fact that my tory will have a glorious end. God's control over his story is so careful and personal that the apostle Paul says:
"[God] marked out their ["their" here means us] appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands."
- Act 17:26
3. Final peace guarantees the presence, power, and provision of the Prince of Peace in the here and now.
I grew up in a house that had little functional peace, and I became a man with little internal peace. Like many others, I looked for peace where it could not be found (in situations, locations, and people). But peace is not something I have to wait for until forever is my home. The promise of future peace guarantees the presence of the Prince of Peace in the here and now. He could never guarantee me eternal peace if he abandoned me along the way. I came to realize that the lasting inner peace I had lacked for so long was not the result of the ease of circumstances or the love of people, but was mine because the Prince of Peace had invaded my life, and I could rest in his care even in moments when I didn't have a clue to what was going on. When it comes to peace, I think many of s are searching for what we have already been given. As Jesus was leaving earth, he said to his disciples,
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid."
- John 14:27 "
Wow. I hope this speaks to you as it did to me. I have learned before, but being the slow person that I am I have to constantly be reminded, that my peace will NEVER be found in things or people. The moment I look for it in these things, I am heading down a road of despair and hopelessness. No one else even has the CAPACITY to provide us that peace. If we place our hope and peace in another person, they will ALWAYS fail us. Because, quite simply, God never intended for us to place our hope in anything or anyone other than Him. When we do that, we are automatically setting ourselves up to fail. Every time.
I long for a perfect life, a great situation, wonderful relationships with others. I want everything in my life to be great.....no problems....no heartache. Unfortunately, that has never happened and never will. So in order to have that peace I so desperately need, I have to look for it in one place. And in One Place only.......the arms of my Savior. I just need a reminder now and then.
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