Trust God. Know Peace.

" ...as the GOD OF PEACE AND COMFORT turns to stone."

WHY IS it so hard to believe that Jesus is good? We read of His goodness to men in the gospels, where He healed and forgave and loved to the point of physical death, then read He is Judge and the Spirit is advocate and there will be judgment, and suddenly, ALL THAT GOD IS as the GOD OF PEACE AND COMFORT turns to stone. By way of example, John’s Revelation has become a terrific battle and the end of earth a time of tremendous horror, suffering such as men cannot imagine.

I have two sides of this. One, you haven’t read Hebrews 11? Particularly verses 33-37. “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (Verse 37).” Applying these things to modern times, what of events like the Holocaust? Need I say that was great suffering and horror? Second, the end of all things is peace. Psalm 37:37 says the end of the upright man is peace. Jeremiah 29:11 says God’s thoughts of us are peace and an expected end. Now, flip to Revelation 21 and remember what Jesus said in Matthew 24: the end only comes when the gospel, the good news of peace, is spread around the globe.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

“Yes, but there will be tremendous persecution and a time of horrible death.”

No, there won’t. Nor an end battle to see if God wins. He’s won already through Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15). There will be no slaughter like the church has painted, or else He isn’t the God of peace any longer. Or else He isn’t FOR US (Romans 8:11). You do remember God SO LOVED the world that He gave His Only-Begotten Son? Not “so loved” a few, not “so loved” only the church, not “so loved” just the Jews, but He loved the entire world. Jesus died in order to save every man and every woman regardless of upbringing, century, sinfulness.

The gates of hell are not supposed to prevail against us, or else Jesus lied (Matthew 16:18). The devil is de-feeted; this is why Jesus came, or the work of the cross and the Resurrection is empty.

There will be no re-battle.

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

We are really “good” at predicting the future and really terrible at believing. Believing, according to Hebrews 11:1, is trusting God when you can’t see the whole thing yet. We’re not supposed to see the whole thing yet. In fact, most of prophecy is better seen when we look back and see what we’ve been through. Much of John’s Revelation is this way. We’re not supposed to know every intricate detail but to trust God, knowing WHO HE IS as the God of Peace.

When Abraham left Ur, he didn’t know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). When he took Isaac to lay him on an altar, he believed God could raise Isaac to life again if it came to that, because he knew God would keep His Word (Hebrews 11:19). He only knew how to sacrifice Isaac. He didn’t know how God would save him.

When Jesus walked in the Temple, the religious leaders seethed with resentment and, in the place which represented God’s love for man, plotted God’s murder (Matthew 12:14;John 18:28). They continued to pray there, continued to read the scrolls there and study the Law, which is filled with prophecies about Jesus which came to pass in front of them. They couldn’t see it.

Judas regretted his betrayal, in some portion, tossing the coins at the Pharisees’ feet. He neither knew his part in prophecy before betraying Jesus nor understood what would happen to him afterward, though both were spoken. And the Pharisees did not repent for their actions but refused to keep the coins, since they’d been used to condemn a man. You’d think they’d wake up and see the truth (Matthew 27:9-10;John 13:18).

The only way to KNOW GOD is by spending time with Him. Lots of time. You must give Him everything. That’s what it means for Him to be Lord, and making Him Lord is what it means to SUBMIT TO GOD. He loves you and your talents and your interests, He can and will use them, even if it’s just because you enjoy them, but until we decide to walk every step of the day with Him in our thoughts, we will miss what He wants to say and will continue to misinterpret truth to fit our human thinking.

Not having a physical form to worship, Israel took their jewelry and cast it into a golden calf, saying, “This is what delivered us from Egypt.” Aaron the priest said that the calf just leapt from the fire (Exodus 32:24).

Have we remained that foolish? Evil is never there for God’s use. He isn’t tempted by it, nor weak and has no other way to make His point (James 1:13). He is holy. He is love. He is peace. Change your thinking to be like His and let go of the details which He hasn’t explained UNTIL HE EXPLAINS THEM. Trust God and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

“My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.” (Proverbs 3:1-2)

Image by Uce from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com