As I watch the sunrise from Ventnor pier, I am reminded that God has not promised me a trouble-free day.

So as I begin this day, I thought the following prayer might be appropriate.

My Father in Heaven,

Today I may get really bad news or face a real tragedy. You never promised that life will be easy. In fact, Jesus promised that in this world I will have trouble.

Today I will certainly be confronted by events that are contrary to my wishes. If nothing else, I am living proof of Paul’s statement that the outer man is fading. As I heard someone say, “The older I get, the better I was.”

I am also aware that my thoughts and motivations are not yet fully in line with your two great commands to love you with my entire being and love my neighbor as myself.

Yet I know that I have much for which I should be, and try to be, grateful. 

I was able to walk to the ocean and watch the sunrise this morning. I have never unwillingly missed a meal. I’m laughing as I watch the sandpipers scurry in the surf. These are some of the physical blessings for which I am grateful. 

Better than these are the spiritual blessings you give me.

Paul tells me that I have every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies at my disposal. Yet I feel like I have barely begun to understand the implications of this.

Thank you for calling me into relationship with you through Jesus Christ.

I ask two things of you this morning. 

Give me greater vision to see the multitude of blessings you will bring my way today.

Grant me the ability to accept the hard things without complaining in the full knowledge that you will use them for my good and your glory.

Amen.

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““Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. “Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:18–19, NASB 95)

I have a friend who is in his early 80’s that is an inspiration to me. He inspires me because of his desire to be ever learning and growing in his faith.

So often in my life, I have encountered older people who are coasting. Their foot is off the gas or their tank has run empty and they are just waiting for the trip to end. Or, worse yet, they complain about their current situation and attempt to relive past experiences rather than live in the moment. Sadly, these things are often true of older Christians.

My friend is not like that, he is reading Scripture and finding fresh insights every day. He is also reading books that challenge him to think and wrestle with the issues of the day in light of Biblical revelation.

Sure, like all of us that are older, he enjoys sharing stories of his experiences (I really enjoy his stories), but he is not stuck in them, he lives as if the best is yet to come.

In the verses quoted above, Isaiah tells us that God is doing something new. My friend lives as if that is true.

And so should the rest of us.

“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, And make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin; Who proceed down to Egypt Without consulting Me, To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt! “Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.” (Isaiah 30:1–3, NASB 95)

We have ideas of how things should go, but are those ideas in keeping with what God wants?

It’s too easy to point in hindsight to some of the church growth strategies over the last 30 years to show how they had more to do with Pharaoh than with God. 

“Let’s not say anything from the stage that could offend anyone” is a form of going to Egypt. Another manifestation of this is the idea of offering life advice as the sermon rather than expounding Scripture. I don’t need advice in the sermon, I need to hear from God through his word.

Jesus told Peter and the disciples that he (Jesus) assumes all the responsibility for building his church. We are helpers, not initiators in that process.

So, we should be seeking direction from Jesus as to how to proceed. Scripture is our most important guide in this endeavor, but we need the Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek to apply scripture to our context.

Here is a question for church leaders. Do Bible study and prayer have a prominent place in your leadership meetings? Is the first question always, “what does Scripture say about this issue?” Do you spend time in prayer asking the Holy Spirit for guidance after the related Bible passages are studied? 

I once was an elder at a church where the lead pastor designated himself “chief vision caster.” With hindsight, I should have pointed out that such a declaration is blasphemous since Jesus declared himself as the chief vision castor and it is our role to seek him to reveal his vision to us.

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You. (Isaiah 26:3, NASB 95)

The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, which conveys the idea of much more than a lack of hostility or trouble, it carries the idea of complete wellbeing, a sense that everything is right and good. In this verse, Isaiah writes shalom shalom, the repetition indicating that it is ultimate peace or shalom he has in mind, therefore the translators use the English “perfect peace” to convey this idea.

This verse claims that those who have their hope fixed entirely on God will experience perfect peace. This implies that if I am not experiencing perfect peace at any moment in time, it is because my focus is on something other than God.

The story recorded in Matthew 14:22-33 of Peter walking on the water is a perfect illustration of this. When Peter focused on Jesus he was fine and stayed above the waves. But when he focused on his circumstances, he floundered and began to drown.

As I have aged, the world around me seems larger and more chaotic and at the same time, I have an increasing understanding of how little influence or control I have over my circumstances. This can lead to frustration, and is probably the biggest reason some old people become very cranky later in life.

Youth brings an energy to life and when one is young, it is easier to think that if sufficient effort is applied, any obstacle can be overcome. At least, in a relatively safe neighborhood in a safe country in which freedoms are granted, one can think along these lines.

Recently I read part of the biography of Corrie Ten Boom to my grandchildren. In Nazi occupied Holland, no such delusion could be supported. They encountered evil of the highest magnitude and had little influence on the outcome. No amount of effort on Corrie’s part could ultimately thwart the evil perpetrated by the Nazis.

Is it possible to have shalom shalom even when there are aspects of life that make me want to curl up in a ball and hide under the covers? Yes, it is possible and I can say that there are fleeting moments of time when I have experience such peace.

I also have people like Corrie Ten Boom who can testify to finding that peace.

Perhaps it would be good to reflect on the verses Paul included at the end of the eighth chapter of Romans:

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35–39, NASB 95)

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. Knowing that is a sufficient foundation on which to build peace, perfect peace.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to join in a conversation, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.