Peace in Every Place: Week 2

What If I Fail?

I pressed send again. I put my heart on the page of paper and I put it out there for people to see and critique. The goal was acceptance and approval.

When rejection comes from people who seem to know what they are doing, it gives you a sense of failure and frustration.

I followed all the rules and crossed every t, but my work wasn’t good enough.

Have you ever put yourself out there?

You go out on a limb thinking you’re doing the right thing and then, snap! The limb comes crashing down and your spitting dirt from your mouth before you know what happened.

We all fail. Sometimes it’s in sinful ways like pride, or lust, or greed. Other times it’s in personal ways like not making the cut, or not getting the dream job you thought was God’s miraculous plan.

Let’s all just have a group hug and admit it, “No one succeeds every time.”

How do we live in peace when we fail or feel rejected?

We must remember that no matter what happens in our lives, peace is non-negotiable. So many of us hold peace in our hands like something that can be snatched away as soon as life doesn’t go our way.

When we get a letter that says, “You didn’t make it,” or open a message that uncovers our weaknesses, it’s hard to hold onto peace.

But why?

Peace in the person of Jesus is supposed to be sustaining right? So is it that we don’t really know Jesus as the person of peace?

When we feel like we’ve lost the peace that passes understanding, it’s time to dig into the place we first found it.

We must remember how Jesus redeemed us. We must remember the way he saved us. We must recall the power of his resurrection and know that no matter what happens in this world, we are filled with the power of peace. It’s not something that man can snatch away or that the enemy can remove from our souls.

Peace is a promise for every person that believes.

So why do we hold it so loosely?

I want to challenge you this week to claim peace and hold firmly to the permanence of it.

When your thoughts begin to flutter into the place of panic or when your heart feels heavy with the rejection of this world, claim the person of peace.

Claim Jesus.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27 (KJV)

When we claim Jesus as our peace it might look something like this:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know you are my sustaining strength. I know that no matter what is happening in my life, you are always steady, firm, and secure. I know that you love me and I trust you completely. When I begin to doubt, draw my eyes back to you and help me to know that you are with me. When I fall, fail, or feel like no one approves of me, give me assurance of your love and show me how to live in your presence with peace that cannot be described. Today, I claim your power, I hold your promise, and I look to the person of Jesus for all I need. You are all I need. You are my peace.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Love & Blessings,

Micah

Did you miss last week’s post? You can find it HERE.