Living in His Shalom
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled¡¦ —John 14:27
Whenever we experience something difficult in our personal lives, we are tempted to blame God. But we are the ones in the wrong, not God. But the fact is that we are the ones who make all the troubles, not God because of our disobedience. Blaming God is evidence that we are refusing to let go of some disobedience somewhere in our lives. We tend to manage the affairs with our own will and efforts, not God¡¯s will. But as soon as we let go with our obedience to God, everything becomes as clear as daylight to us. As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion. Our attitude must be one of complete reliance on God. We must trust in the Lord solely by seeking for His Kingdom. Once we get to that point, there is nothing easier than living the life of a saint. We encounter difficulties when we try to take the authority of the Holy Spirit for our own purposes. We must remember that David had served for God¡¯s purpose, not his purpose. (Acts 13:36)
God¡¯s mark of approval, whenever you obey Him, is peace (Shalom) . He sends an immeasurable, unfathomable peace; not a natural peace, ¡°as the world gives,¡± but the Shalom of Jesus. Whenever peace does not come, wait until it does, or seek to find out why it is not coming. If you are acting on your own impulse, or out of a sense of the heroic, to be seen by others, the peace of Jesus will not exhibit itself. This shows no unity with God or confidence in Him. When we seek our own glory, we will never experience God¡¯s glory. The spirit of simplicity, clarity, and unity is born through the Holy Spirit, not through your decisions. God counters our self-willed decisions with an appeal for simplicity and unity. God wants us to put our absolute trust in Him. This is Kingdom-Focused life. For God¡¯s glory, we must obey with our absolute surrender.
We¡¯ve got to notice that we will have many issues whenever we cease to obey God. When I do obey God, problems come, not between me and God, but as a means to keep my mind examining with amazement the revealed truth of God. In other words, we will see God¡¯s glory and His miraculous actions for our own sake. But any problem that comes between God and me is the result of disobedience. Any problem that comes while we obey God (and there will be many), increases our overjoyed delight because we know that our Father knows and cares, and we can watch and anticipate how He will solve our problems. I pray that you will be living with God¡¯s overflowing Joy in His Peace. Shalom!