It's a word that is elusive at times............we long for a peaceful world..........peace in our homes and families.......peace at work..........peace with neighbors...........
......peace of mind, peace for our souls..........
yet how do we obtain it??
If you look at the photo above, it might instill a sense of peace to you. It does for me.
I was at this very spot, on that rock ledge, overlooking the Central Adirondacks, on Monday (Columbus Day) which was a day off for many of us in state or public service jobs.
My friend Kathy and I hiked the Moxham Mountain trail and it was our first time on it. In fact, the trail was just built for hiking in 2012 and has become very popular. It is a mountain that stands at 2418 feet in elevation and is only a 2.7 mile walk one way.
It brought a lot of peace to my mind and soul as I hiked the trail yesterday. This particular spot, shown above, was especially peaceful. It is one of the first overlooks on a ridgeline across the mountain before we get to the cliffs and summit. It was breathtaking. And no one else was around..........pure peace.
Yet to obtain that sense of peace, we had to do some work.
We had to hike, one foot in front of the other, as the weather turned warmer and warmer. We had to stop and drink water, shedding layers, stretching muscles. We had to persevere and follow that trail. We would come to an overlook and think, "Ah...we made it to the top"...only to discover that we had to keep going!
And this was brought to my mind again this morning because my devotional happened to be in Leviticus 26:1-8. Here are the verses that jumped out at me:
"If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit....I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid." ~Leviticus 26: 3&4,6~
God was speaking to the children of Israel....that if they kept His commandments and kept the godly principles in their lives, He would bless them.
This is still true today!!
Some non-believers are people of good integrity, character and morals. And they are blessed. Can you imagine how much more God blesses those of us who are Believers if we keep His commands and choose God's ways?? He does.
He blesses us in all kinds of ways! It's a promise He has given us!
He will bless our land. He will meet our needs. He will keep us from being afraid.
He will bring peace. We obtain this peace by some hard work at times. We might need to face temptation that Satan throws in our face and press in to Christ and His saving grace and mercy.
We might need to change our life style or way of thinking and acting.
Whatever it is, if it doesn't line up with God's principles and commandments, we will not have peace.
When we strive to follow Christ with all of our heart, soul and mind.....we will have peace....even in the midst of hard work, trials, temptations, and storms....we can still have that peace.
Are you reaching for peace today??
3 comments:
Great post and it goes right along with my scripture for this week - Romans 15:13 - "Now the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost." Thanks for your thoughts and have a great week!
I love everything about this post, Faith. The picture, the descriptions, the comparison! Sometimes I think we barrel along in life doing our own thing and ignoring the things of God even though we call ourselves Christians and then wonder why we have no peace. This post laid it out perfectly.
To get some peace we have to do some work, foot step after foot step. That is a helpful reminder of where I am at. Also thanks for the photos - visual treat!
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