February 2017--The Peace of God

   

Some of the beautiful flowers of Thailand

Have you ever pondered the fact that some of our most well-known and used Bible verses are the most difficult to live out?  Philippians 4:6-7

      "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your    needs, and don’t forget to thank him for His answers.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus." Living Bible)  

It seems no matter what our age and experience of life, we find it difficult to experience the peace of God--especially in life's challenging times--but also in the small frustrations of life that constantly assail us.  We are learning, I think, from many of the missionaries in our international church to have peace and "go with the flow."  It is also certainly the Thai way.   "Mai ben rai" is the favored expression meaning no problems, no worries--it's all O.K.  

     How do we truly experience the peace of God in our lives?  What does that look like?  I was recently asked to give my reflections on the peace of God in difficult circumstances, and as is usually the case, I was greatly blessed in my reflections upon this topic. One couple in our church very suddenly found out they had to leave after being here seven years.  Another single woman also found she has to leave and go to a different country.  Both of them, though disappointed, exhibited a peace and trust in the Lord who directs our steps.  Their spirit and attitude has been an inspiration to me.  Could I respond in such a manner in their situation?  Yahweh promises in Jer. 29:12-13a "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you."  I think this seeking the Lord wholeheartedly defies a casual relationship.  It speaks of an intimacy that is developed by continual communion and it speaks of commitment, priorities and choice.  And once we develop this intimate communion with our Lord, we find peace--no matter the chaos that swirls in our midst.  We can never avoid strife in the world around us, but with God we can know peace. (Isaiah 26:3)

I believe Scripture refers to this intimate communion as abiding.  " I am the vine, you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit.  Apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)  Cynthia Heald explains it this way, "To attach our delicate, fragile selves firmly and permanently into the vine in order to receive His strength and security. It is choosing to spend time with Him in His Word and in conversation with Him."

     We have had a very busy couple of months.  We had Heidi, Jay and Liesl and Evie here with us for 8 days.  What a exceptionally blessed time we had with all our family together.  We were so thankful for them making the trip.  The girls were excited to see their cousin Ezra.  In giving him a great deal of attention, they were rewarded with big smiles.  We have hearts full of wonderful memories.  (Bleum Ji--happy hearts).  We squeezed as much as humanly possible in 8 days , and they got a good taste of Chiang Mai and Thailand. (Closest mountain and beautiful view of the city, the elephant camp, the zoo--where the girls fed a hippo and giraffe; a tuk-tuk ride; beautiful flower gardens and of course some of the wonderful markets with hand-crafted items; as well as some of our favorite restaurants)  As soon as they left, we were off to Bangkok to renew our visas.  When we returned, we had a special visit with dear friends from our church in Mansfield.  We were glad they were able to join us in Church and also see some of the CM sites.  Again, our hearts were warmed and encouraged by this visit with special visit with long-time friends. 

The promise of Scripture is that God's presence sustains us in ways we cannot fathom or understand. (Exodus 33:14)  I (Sher) love studying the Hebrew names of God.  In Psalm 91 we see 2 of these names dovetail together in a beautiful, comforting passage. "He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High (El-Elyon--the supreme omnipotent) shall abide (rest)under the shadow of the Almighty.(El-Shaddai--the all-sufficient one for our every problem and need)."  When we face even the most difficult moments of our lives and seek  shelter in our God, He casts a shadow over us sustaining us.  Many times we are not aware of the Lord's provision and care--but that presence is there--circling our lives and providing for us in the shadow He provides--and therein is peace.

We covet your prayers; we so need them--so thank you in advance.  Please pray:

• Continued health and strength that we may be faithful to God's calling here
• Medical procedure for Dave
• That we would reflect our Savior in the lives of everyone with whom we come into contact(forgetting to pay the taxi driver is not considered to be a good example)
• That our Lord would effectively use us in our international church(we love the flavor of our international church but constantly saying goodbye continues to be difficult)