In The Fields: HEART CHECK... What To Do if You Need Peace...

What brings calm to your mind, rest to your soul? When does your heart feel at peace?

Maybe it’s when the sun is just rising or setting and you get a glimpse of the majesty of God.

Maybe it’s when you’re taking a walk and a cool breeze blows over you and you feel refreshed.

Maybe it’s when you see love between people or watch children playing.

Maybe it’s when you're sitting by water and listening to the waves hit the shore.

Maybe it’s when you’re curled up with a good book in front of a fireplace.

Most of the time it seems these moments of peace are few and far between. Days can feel stressful.

Many times your heart may not feel at rest, but at war. Maybe your heart is divided between two things. Or it feels insecure. Or lacking, or even broken. There’s disappointment, sin, Satan, struggles, loneliness, fear.

Tons of things weigh on the heart.

Last week my heart was not steady. Sometimes it was sad, sometimes weary, and sometimes stressed. I wanted peace, needed peace.

One day in particular stressed my heart to the limit. One of my former students… her dad had a long awaited surgery that took several hours. They gave him a 99% chance of NOT making it through.

As I sat for the long hours waiting for the surgery to end, as I paced the halls, tears stung my eyes. It was literally walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Would this Dad, we call him Gakey, would he make it? I prayed for peace and a miracle.

On days like that and in life overall, how can we have peace? Can we really know and experience a “peace that surpasses all understanding?”

The sermon I heard over the weekend spoke exactly to that. It was such a good word, I wanted to share.

It was said, we must guard our hearts for this is where God gives peace.

Proverbs 4:23

Above all else, guard your heart for it is the well spring of life.

Everything about your life flows from what is going on in your heart. External fights with others usually stems from an internal dysfunction IN YOU. (James 4:1) If inwardly your heart is not experiencing the love and peace of God, outwardly- this can be seen in how you live, what you say, and in how you respond and treat others.

Thankfully, Jesus came to heal our hearts and give us His peace.

We can have peace with ourselves ….from our insecurities, fears, disappointments, self condemnation from the mistakes from our past, thanks to Jesus! We can be healed.

Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

Colossians 1:21

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now God has reconciled you by Jesus’s body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. …

So how do you have peace in your heart? If the heart needs guarded, and peace comes when you do that, how do you guard your heart?

The heart is tricky. It's like a throne room, a place where we worship something, give focus. What do you worship in your heart? Who or what do you think of and give worth to there? Often our insecurities grow there, brokenness can linger there- bitterness and envy can blossom there.

How can we guard our hearts, so that what is there, is not anxiety or stress, or other things or people, but God Himself?

The key is found in Philippians.

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

God’s peace is what guards your heart. When life’s storms come… unexpected trials, wipe outs, change, when people disappoint you, in all seasons, we can have God as the foundation of our heart and we can experience His peace, no matter what.

But we have to watch our hearts. If our hearts aren’t guarded in God, if His peace is not there, the rest of us becomes unstable.

To experience peace in our hearts, He must be our foundation, on the throne of our hearts. Our part is to make sure He's there and then to present our prayers and all that we are to Him, with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the faith part. We thank him because He can. He is able. We thank Him because we can come to Him, rely on Him. He’s worthy of our praise and thanks. He wants us to seek Him first, love Him most. Trust Him. Then His part is He will then give you His peace that is beyond understanding and this peace will guard our hearts.

AMAZING!

The source of peace is God. It’s not dependent on circumstances. We can experience this peace in the darkest of hospital hallways, when you’re facing job loss, a relationship ending, a change you didn’t see coming. When nothing is working out, you can still experience His peace and His joy.

God can deal with anything that faces us. Nothing is too big, too hard, too much.

We don’t have to be stressed or anxious, we must takes ourselves to Him and share all that’s in us, and with thanksgiving, thank Him for being with us and for us. Give Him our hearts, our requests, our everything. And we're promised His PEACE will come and guard our hearts.

If God has done anything for you, you have a reason to give thanks. If you're breathing or standing on two legs, those are reasons. Don’t forget the testimonies you have. Remember where God has brought you from. Use that memory to help propel you forward, to give thanks, trust God, and experience His peace.

We must constantly be checking our hearts. Is God at the center of us? Do we have peace inwardly and outwardly in our lives? If not, the heart is usually the problem.

God's peace can fill you and sustain you in whatever you're facing. And you might even get to witness a miracle as you trust Him with all.

In the hallways of that hospital last week… as the hours stretched on and there was no news that the surgery was finished… we prayed. And prayed. And prayed.

Finally, the news came and what was said sincerely astonished us all, Gakey had SURVIVED against all odds. Hugs and cheers and tears erupted. Later, we gathered in the small hospital room and gave thanks for a God that is bigger than anything. A God able to do miracles!

Again, this surgery being successful here in Ethiopia was impossible. They said IF Gakey survived, he possibly would never wake up or be weeks in ICU after. One day later, I came into the room to see this dad sitting in a chair and he was bouncing a small basketball with a big smile on his face. I shook the hand of a walking miracle. And we gave thanks to God.

Yesterday, only a few days after that surgery, Gakey left the hospital and went home with his family. God can do anything!

So we must remember… if we feel anxious, stressed… we just need to take our requests to God with thanksgiving, then trust Him. His peace will guard our hearts and see us through.

John 14:1

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in me … Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Colossians 3:15

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…

May we constantly check our hearts and live and move in the peace of God! Amen!

Onward!

Praises/Prayer Requests

-Time continues to speed by. I can’t believe it’s late October. Classes are going well at both schools. Please continue to keep those in prayer.

-Please pray for the continued recovery of Gakey.

-Please pray for Ethiopia overall, there are parts of the country that are not stable.

I want to wish a HUGE Happy Birthday to my beautiful Mom on October 27 and to my beautiful sister, Noel, on October 29. Very grateful for the example of both of these ladies in my life and the years of shared journey.