Peace in Our Waiting
By Gina Ellis
Monday – 12.07.20
Waiting this year has become our “Now Normal”. Seeking peace in the daily struggle for our mind, our hearts, and our health seems more than we can bear. Where do we find Peace in our waiting?
As the chaos of sin in the world crashes into the beauty of our carefully curated lives, I recall the Garden where Adam and Eve found themselves waiting...and God sought them out. (Genesis 3:8-9 ESV)
This year in 2020 we find ourselves living in the unknown, seeming absence of justice, submission to government decrees, the gathering and separating of families, and we find ourselves waiting. Perhaps this year, more than most, we can understand that last year of waiting in the first Advent season. In the waiting of 0001 B.C. God’s people were being called into His story of reconciliation through the Gift of His Son and messages from angels, prophets, and dreams. (Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:10-12; John 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
While the collective “we” have been struggling this year, I personally was reminded of the most painful season in my own life of waiting for peace to show up. In 2010, after 4 years of striving to control my life, my job, my husband, marriage, and kids, the walls of my carefully built protection came crashing down. By halfway through the year, I had lost two of the most important women in my life- my grandmother and my mother in law. Out of exhaustion, I stopped trying to control my husband’s drinking and out of apathy I was slowly letting go of our marriage that was dangling by a thread woven with lies. My two teenagers were playing their roles immaculately and I was too self-absorbed in my role as family savior to play my God given role of mother.
I was mad. Angry with God that He had not intervened and “fixed” whatever had broken inside my husband. In faith, I still believed He could until a late-night phone call turned into the last straw. Three days later, I found myself marching into a church hosted meeting for people of addiction, Reformers Unanimous. Ready to leave my husband on their doorstep, I was done. Done with him and our marriage. It was in that moment God made His presence known, as a supernatural outpouring of pure love enveloped the atmosphere. Did God “fix it” in that moment? No. He is not a “fix it guy”. Jesus is a healer, who cares much more about the long game of eternity and we had some lessons yet to learn along the way.
Let us jump back into the story of God’s greatest Gift, Jesus, our Messiah. Jesus is born, baptized, tempted, and found faultless. He is teacher, healer, friend. Then in the middle of Jesus’ third year of ministry, He fulfills the prophecies and allows himself to be arrested, tortured, and crucified on a cross for the sins of the world. Jesus goes to the Grave to reconcile us back to God. (Romans 5:15-17)
The disciples found themselves lost in the ensuing chaos, confusion, and grief. Some separated from each other and hid. Others struggled with disbelief, while still others hung their head in shame and disappointment. Talk about feeling out of control, angry and afraid! Anyone else recognize these feelings of frustration, pain, and loss when things did not look as you expected they would this year?
Grief was not to be the end of their God story. It was not the end of my story or my marriage. It is not the end of our 2020 story either! It is not the end because Jesus Christ is the plot twist that brings reconciliation to the God of creation and eternity. (John 14:6)
The deep grief of Jesus believers is still felt today whenever we separate ourselves from community with the Holy. This year of change and waiting has reminded me to fight for those moments of holy, because wrapped up in them lies peace.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
From the Garden, to the Gift, to the Grave - God’s faithfulness in providing a way for us to be made whole in Him gives me peace. My adoption into the family of God, secure in eternity gives me peace in the waiting for Jesus’ return. I leave you with this blessing.
“…because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.” 2 John 1:2-3 NIV
Call to Action
Pray and reflect on the following this week:
If the uncertainty of this year is extremely difficult for you or you feel a special calling on your heart to do some hard things in the name of the Lord, you may want to study how God’s chosen people of the Nativity handled the waiting. (Hint: look for the messengers and their one common phrase, “Do not be afraid…” Here are some verses to get you started:
Luke 1:26-45; Luke 2:1-21; Matthew 1:18-25; Jeremiah 23:3-5; Romans 15:12-13; John 15:15-17
Peace is an experience that goes deeper than our feelings, it belongs to the Lord and He freely gives it to us, His believers. Dig into Ephesians chapter 6 where you will find peace as part of the Lord’s Armor. The website Christianity Today described the Peace we read about in Ephesians as the following: Peace is an attribute of the Lord’s very person and character (Galatians 5:22). In Greek, peace means oneness or wholeness. The gospel, which means good news, is the forgiveness of sins and access to and oneness with God through faith in Christ. This oneness with the Lord produces peace.
Consider how the Armor of God may affect your daily life if you choose to begin each day by dressing in His armor.
Reflection
1.What does peace mean to you? What does peace look like in your daily life? How do you access the peace of God?
2. Mary, who received the unexpected news of her calling to God’s story, ran to her cousin Elizabeth. (Luke 1:26-45) Do you have a friend that you can go to for wisdom and confirmation of the Word of God? Whom can you encourage by sharing what God is doing in your life?
3. Examine your heart for any areas of forgiveness needed. Make a list of whom you need to forgive, including yourself, if needed. Go to God in confession and prayerful guidance over each name. To find peace, you obey God, leaving the healing and reconciliation in God’s hands.
4. Who was it that told you the good news of Jesus? Remember the moment you first believed, or believed anew; did it bring you peace? Spend some time with God thanking Him for the people He has placed in your life. Then ask God to show you who is in your life that needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ!
5. Several scriptures on peace are listed below from the Holy Bible, ESV. Choose one or more you feel especially drawn to and memorize it by writing, praying, and praising your way through it this week.
Romans 5:1 – Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 85:8 – Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.
Isaiah 26:3 – You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Romans 8:6 – For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Philippians 4:6-7 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
2 Corinthians 13:11 – Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
