"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control; against such things there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26
peace.
The reference above in Numbers hangs by our front door. It is our family's benediction as we go to & fro everyday. My Dad used to give this benediction at the end of every service he preached. It is a special prayer spoken by Aaron, as a blessing over the people of Israel.
I am not sure I've ever tried to teach my sons 'peace'. Maybe I should start using it when they fight, "Is there no peace!?" "peace brothers...!" I think the dramatic nature with with those lines would be delivered would definitely cause an abrupt halt to any altercation, because it would be so odd. Sometimes instead of giving into anger, (STOP fighting already!!) I can breathe deep & try to use the old bait and switch, the old distraction method. I used that a lot when they were babies (no you can't have the unacceptable item ((hides behind back)) Oh, look! Something shiny!). Even though they are much more aware that what they want or the tantrum they were having hasn't disappeared, they give in to the humor sometimes.
Peace. I know I pray for peace - to keep the peace - to hold my peace - to feel the Lord's peace. Peace like a river. We sing that song to our kiddos, "I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river, I've got peace like a river in my soul..." My James' first question is, "What is a soul?" Which is a rather hard concept of distinguishing the difference between the body & the mind/spirit/soul. But honestly, it feels like a more difficult question, 'What is peace?' Where do we see real peace? Real peace, lasting peace, is only found in the Lord.
I think of peace as more of a stillness. quiet rest. lack of worry. ability to trust without complication or contradiction. I think Psalm 23 speaks more peace to my soul than just about anything. And the song Psalm 23 by Jason Upton is an alltime favorite of mine.
Today, this is my prayer.
"The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along right paths for his names sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."
Psalm 23 NIV
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment