{Compass of Peace}
Peace. In the dictionary, it says it is a state or condition of tranquility, serenity, or harmony or is also a state of being silent or still. Whenever I'm at peace, I find myself feeling content and secure. Peace, according to the Word of God, is one of the fruits of the Spirit. If we are led by the Holy Spirit, we will find peace, but if we are led by the desires of our flesh, we will most often find ourselves struggling to find peace and sanity in our lives. We are all often faced with a decision that sometimes are easy to make based on common sense, but what about those tough decisions like those that affect our jobs, our relationships, our home, our children, our money, and so on... These are situations that we know as Christians, are to turn to God for His guidance and direction that we may do what is best in the eyes of the Lord and not something that will ultimately bring us to regret our decisions.
Let me share a little bit of my story... A few years back when my husband and I bought our first one bedroom condo as newlyweds, we had only lived in it for a few short months when my first son was born. We realized that the space was extremely too small for our family and felt maybe we should start looking into a two bedroom. I had already made a decision to be a SAHM, so basically we were living off one income which made more sense not to even consider looking into a new home. However, we still searched for other condos or homes for sale within a certain budget that we thought we might be able to afford but, didn't feel peace about the ones we found. As disappointed as we were, we felt that God had something better and maybe it just wasn't the perfect time for it. Several months later, we came across a sign in one of our neighbors windows right across the building from us that said "For Sale By Owner". We made an appointment to look at the place and something began to tug at me. I had this unusual "knowing" feeling that this was for us. Later that night, after praying and lifting it up to God, I felt this peace about it. Although my husband was feeling pretty uneasy and reluctant to move forward, I told him, "God is going to give this to us. I feel at peace about this." And he trusted that if it was God, then He'll surely give us the favor we needed to own that home. The offer we placed on it was lower than what the seller was asking for, but it was what we were able to afford. After a few days of waiting with suspense and anticipation, we got a call that even though they have received an offer higher than ours, they felt led by God to accept ours. In fact, they were so happy that we were also Christians! They also had asked us to pray for their daughter who, a week later, had willingly asked to come to church with us. Even until this day, we still keep in touch with this family and thank God that He led us in the right direction with the power of His peace, to fulfill His purpose and for His glory! If we had chosen to have purchased a home several months before, we wouldn't have seen or experienced the goodness of God and have had our faith strengthened. Also, we would not have given this person an opportunity to come to church with us and hear the Gospel. Most of all, we would not have learned this valuable lesson about walking in faith and trusting in His peace to help us do what He has called us to do!
So my friends, if we allow His peace to guide us and lead us to do His will, then our lives will be filled with peace and we will see His purposes accomplished. There were many times in my life that I chose not to be led by His peace and suffered consequences, but I chose to share one of the few times in my life that God was my compass of peace!
Challenge #16 - Alot of times we make decisions based on our own will rather than God's. And from my own experiences, whenever I chose to do something even though there was this unsettling feeling that I felt deep down inside, there was always a reason for that because it was God's way of trying to get my attention to change course or cancel what I had originally planned to do. Had I obeyed God's leading I probably would have spared myself from undue stress or grief. It has taught me that the peace of God and His words should be our life compass in every situation when we are faced to make a decision. If we don't feel peace about something after praying and waiting upon Him and know that it is in line with His teachings, we should let that be our guide or compass in life to make the right decisions. We are to be led by peace no matter how much we want something or else we'll find ourselves sorry if we go against the leading of the Holy Spirit. There are different ways that God will help direct our paths with peace. Some receive direction and peace through His Word, some receive through hearing a worship song, some receive through prayer and meditation, but, whatever the scenario, God's peace can be felt with the heart, an unexplainable joy. So, this challenge is to create a LO about a time or moment in life when you were either led by His peace or when you learned that hard lesson of being led by your own instincts rather than God's... Hope this gives you all something to think about! I know it has been a personal experience of mine and creating a page about this will always remind me to follow His compass of peace that I may enjoy a peaceful life...
Faith Verses:
Psalm 34:14 - "Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."
Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 14:30 - "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones."
Romans 8:6 - "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace."
1 Cor 14:33 - "For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace."
Phil 4:7 - "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
2 Thess 3:16 - "Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way."
Here are layouts created by me and some of our Challenge CT! Click on the images to view full credits.
By Dahlia
By Jackie Ann
By Tammy
Again, please upload your layouts to the Faith Discovery Challenges gallery. I will be choosing a layout to be featured on our blog next Tuesday. And remember that every new challenge is posted on the last Wednesday of the month! Thanks for joining me and hope you enjoy this challenge!By Tammy
~Dahlia
