Be Inspired End of The Month Prayer and Fasting 29th to 31st January 2019
Theme:The Peace of God
Text: Philippians 4:7
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 KJV
Praise Be to the king of kings the one who is who was and who is to come. The master above all masters. The wonderful creator the forever living father.
He alone deserves all our praise and glory, He is mighty and words of mouth alone cannot describe His mightiness. Lord almighty I commit this message into your hands speak through the vessel to the vessel and as many that will read it in Jesus name Amen.
It's amazing how the year that seem like it started yesterday we are seeing the end of the the first month already God be praised. Hallelujah.
Peace is something human being, it can be defined or described as tranquility, stillness, lack of turmoil. Everyone desires peace at some point and over certain things in life. The peace of man is limited and can easily be disturbed because it is something the natural sense can perceive.
When we talk about the peace of God it is beyond the natural sense of man. The peace of God is felt even when physically you can see disturbance and turbulence because it is an extraordinary and divine encounter.
A good example of The Peace of God can be seen in Bible Verses below;
Immediately He directed the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], while He sent the crowds away. After He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat [by this time] was already a long distance from land, tossed and battered by the waves; for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately He spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I! Do not be afraid!” Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water.” He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus extended His hand and caught him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. Then those in the boat worshiped Him [with awe-inspired reverence], saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”
MATTHEW 14:22-33 AMP
In the above scripture, Jesus and the disciples have just finished a conference /crusade whichever best describe it. The disciples were in the boat they were asked to go ahead in the boat by Jesus, Jesus went to pray. From the amplified version it looks like Jesus went for an alone time which was an all night cause it stated that He went in the evening and by the time He returned it was morning. On His return the disciples were facing a challenge, the wind was tossing their boat and it was boisterous, they were already afraid, their peace had been disrupted. Jesus came walking on the sea, I can imagine when Jesus was walking on the sea it was like a red carpet under His feet because the creator has power over all creations.
The disciples saw Him and said it's a ghost they cried out in fear, I can imagine the cry of fear in the middle of the sea, who is going to come to their rescue. Jesus immediately encouraged them and reassured them that it was Him and not a ghost as they had thought.
Peter being the bold one requested that if it is Jesus He should command Him to walk on the water.. Peter knew there was power in the word hence his request to Jesus. Jesus did as Peter requested but as Peter was approaching Jesus, he looked at the wind saw the effect of the wind and he became scared fear gripped him and he started sinking. Jesus reached out for Peter and they got into the ship, then the wind stopped and the disciples acclaimed that indeed Jesus was the son of God.
The disciples faith was tested in the scenario explained in the above Bible verses. Let us reflect on Peter the moment he walked on the sea he was enjoying the peace of God until he looked at the wind. It wasn't like the wind was not blowing, the wind was obviously at the same wave length very boisterous but because He was focusing on Jesus at that moment He enjoyed peace. Jesus Christ on the other hand regardless of the effect of the wind on the sea He walked calmly and not horridly on the sea and nothing affected Him.
The preceding verse of our main text Philippians 4:6 said be anxious for nothing, lack of peace can result in anxiousness. When peace is missing fear is the chief and dominating factor of such situation. But the Bible says through thanksgiving we should make our supplications known to God.
God is not promising that we would not see things that will test our peace but He is telling us that even in those situation He is our peace. At times as believers when we look ahead at things we are trusting God for our mind strike like thunder especially when we rely on our own knowledge and a little toss or turn we start panicking calling out for help.
If we reflect on the disciples they had just left Jesus in a place after a wonderful miracle which He performed and fed over 5000 men women and children not included. Then the whole wind issue started, Instead of calling on to Jesus they shouted for help to thin air, and when Jesus told them it was Him the only one that had courage to go on the water later shifted His focus.
To enjoy peace of God we must stay focused on God. You cannot be running helter skelter and be expecting the peace of God. When God gives us a mandate or promise focusing on what He said is more important that focusing on the distractions that may follow.
There will be things that will test our reliance and faith in God but if we know the God we serve we will stay right where He directs us.
“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You--in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].
ISAIAH 26:3 AMP
To enjoy the peace of God we must focus on Him. When we look away from God then we see things that will create fear and dominate our minds. It is rather unfortunate that as human being we are easily distracted.
When we remember that Jesus has overcome everything we will trust him still and enjoy the peace of God made available to us.
No matter what the situation is right now with you, you can enjoy the peace of God, no matter how impossible it may seem right now you can enjoy the peace of God.
When you allow worry to overcome you, you live consistently in denial or God's peace and begin to believe the lies of the enemy.
So make that conscious decision today to enjoy the peace of God no matter what.
Let us pray
Almighty father I thank you for your word that you have given to me expressly this day in Jesus name
Wonderful King in anyway I have focused on things that are not meant to be my focus forgive me in Jesus name
Lord eternal grant me Grace to keep my focus on you so I can enjoy your peace that you have made available to me in Jesus name
Personal prayer
Thank you Jesus for I will enjoy your peace henceforth in Jesus name
Be Inspired by His Word January 2019 ©
No comments:
Post a Comment