Peace

Rest-less
Less-rest.
Restlessness doesn't sound that complicated now does it?  Momma is tired.  I know you're feeling me, I know you know this feeling well, Momma.  Some days it's hard and you just want to pull the covers up over your head, close your eyes, and dream a little longer simply because you were the last one in the bed the night before, the one who got up with the needy child, the one who remember the clothes were still in the wash, the one who everyone depends on to handle their desperate needs.  

Restless.  

You feel it.  You feel the calling to be still; to make your world stop spinning for a moment so you can just process all that's going on.  You feel the need to press pause on life; to slow down the growing up of your babies, to drink in the moments that are flying by, to try again with the love that you sprinkled when it should have been drenched.  
Truth is, you feel that if you could just get a moments peace...
But how?

Let's talk about how to have peace more.  
More peace.  Sounds nice, huh?
It's kind of radical.  To some, it's pretty out there.  It's a lot of craziness.
Crazy faith.

Let's talk about a practical thing that faith does.  Your faith simply makes peace between you and God.  Our faith in God is where our true peace is found.  And how do we find God in order to have faith?  Truth is, we are separated from Him by our sin. Sin.  There's that word the world hates to hear.  None of us want to admit we fall short.  None of us want to admit we aren't good people by nature.  The truth cuts deep.  It hurts.  

This sin keeps us from our Heavenly Father and sin angers God for that reason.  He wants to be near us and He can't be, our chains won't let Him.  If someone took my babies and locked them away, put them in chains, I wouldn't hate my babies.  I would hate the chains.  I would do everything in my power to rescue them, even give my own life.  Looking at my babies that I love so deeply, it would grieve my heart and my spirit to see them suffering from their chains.  This scenario is no different than our relationship with God.  The will of God does not force  us to love to Him.  

​He gave us the power to take off our chains....faith.  We are saved by faith.  The chains fall by faith.  We can run into His loving arms by faith.

Did you know that God knows we are human?  He made each and every one of us and He knew we would be separated from Him.  He did us the favor of giving us the dignity to choose our own steps despite His guidance.  So, He knew we would wander.  I have spent many hours pondering this whole thing.  It's crazy, right?  Why make us at all if we were just going to do our own thing and put chains on ourselves and separate ourselves from Him.  Why would He even go to the trouble to create us?  I found the answer was very simple the moment I looked into my first born child's eyes.  He was worth it.  He was worth the labor, the pain, the struggle, and yet...the world carried Him out of my arms and away.  A few nurses and an incubator carried Him away, we were separated because he was weak  Now, that tiny baby is a hefty 16 year old who drives!  I find myself separated from him with a huge desire to be with him more.  He's not perfect, he makes mistakes, he messes up, he can be disrespectful, he can be kind, he wants his freedom, and I want him to experience life to the fullest, right?

We are no different in the eyes of God.  We are His babies, His children. 

God is angered by our sin.  He hates it.  It keeps us from Him but how in the world do we make it right.  How do we set it all upright so that we can have that loving relationship?  
​Faith.

God made the way to make it right because He knew we couldn't.  So He wrapped Himself in flesh and joined us.  He became sin, the crushing weight of sin.  He carried it for 33 years just for us.  He gave us Himself.  He laid down His life so that our chains could fall off.   How dare we look past Jesus that somehow there's another hope for us, there is no other hope.  There is no other religion out there, no one else in history that speaks about this.  There is no other hope outside of Jesus, because we can do nothing so he came because we couldn't.  We can't earn Him or earn peace.  It comes only by faith.
Faith.
Peace comes by faith.

Who's your faith in?  A career?  A spouse?  A friend?  Children?  Yourself?  Jesus?
The amount of peace you have is a great indicator of who your faith is in.

Does peace come with marriage?
Does peace come with money?
Does peace come with children?
Does peace come with new relationships?
Does peace come with higher degrees?
Absolutely not, no way.

This world does not offer peace.  It is only found in God Himself manifest in humanity and His name is Jesus.  You can't buy it?  You can't earn it?  

We need only to say... God I lay down everything so I can have everything you have.  I realize nothing can replace You, I have to come to you and empty my pockets, lay down my life, and receive You for Who You are.

I don't know about you but I want peace with God, today.  I don't want to be God's enemy.  I want to receive the love He has for me.  Today! 

Christ + Nothing = Salvation

You have full access to Him and His love right were you are at this moment.  Nothing comes close to the love of those who believe.  There is a special kindred bond between Him and us and is so much stronger than any love we can imagine.

He never loves you more.  He already and always has loved you with all that He had.  

How do you stay crazy in love with God?  How do stay head over heels in love with Him?
How do you stay in love in any relationship?  Time.
Time with Him.  He then floods you with His peace.

You're feeling the weight of the day.  So much mess first thing in the morning, rushing to work, getting kids ready, making lunch, sitting in car rider line, waiting at the bus stop, the world is a mess and the world is flooding you with less rest.  

Instead, fill your morning with the peace of God.  Spend time with Him, open His word.  So that you can lay down your mess and pick up His peace.  

It's not easy keeping your peace.  The world doesn't want you to have peace.  The enemy hates your peace.  He wants you to feel far from our Father.  He needs you to believe that He isn't near.  You may pick up your Bible and feel that God is so far away but it's not true, it's a lie.  Feelings are fake because God is near you.  The master of lying to our minds is going to tell you. I'm here to expose the lie of the Devil.  God isn't far from you.  

God is near.  

If you feel out of alignment with God, nothing is better in the world to realign you with God than spending time in His Word.  

Truth is you think your past or even your present has God mad and you can't feel His Spirit with you.  Truth is He tore the veil so that you can enter into His presence, He is there with You always.  Anytime.  Everyday.  He knows your sin but He remembers the atonement for your sin.

Peace like a river rolls through your soul when you have faith.  
Crazy faith feeds the hungry, Crazy faith moves missionaries.  Crazy faith rescues the lost and hurting.  All because faith gives us peace.  Peace will flow through you no matter your situation or circumstances.  Peace can be right now.  Fight for it.
Put your faith in Christ and pick up your sword, God's Word and truth, against the thief of faith.  Guard your peace.

Of all the things in the world we can worry about, we can have peace.  It watches over you.  

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into his grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, produces character, and character, hope.  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare die.   But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation- Romans 5:1-11