Summer time usually brings us all a little more peacefulness! The pace slows as families plan holidays and our schedules do not seem as ordered as during the other seasons of the year. In our family, we really enjoy our screened porch and hearing the peaceful sounds of birds early in the morning flying about seeking and gathering their morning food. There is a peace to the quietness of the morning we can all cherish. It's a time for morning reflections and devotionals and prayer time for many. What brings you peace in the early morning hours? In the Bible in Judges 6, The Lord speaks to Gideon and blesses him with the words of peace in the morning. "Peace be unto thee; fear not....." Peace is the opposite of fear and because of the word he was given, Gideon built an altar unto The Lord and called it Jehovah Shalom. Even though Gideon had spoken personally with God, as a man, he did not fully understand the fragility of the situation he had been placed in or been prepared for as a leader. God can use any situation for His glory and His purpose when we surrender our own plans as we see in this beautiful story from the Scriptures. God was planning to bring him full circle as a leader to accomplish a mission He had called Gideon for. Trusting God means leaving the complete results to Him. A peace comes when this trust is given. In the Hebrew shalom means "completeness, health, and welfare." We all desire to be whole and complete and repaired or as I like to say "restored". Do you feel whole, if not, what separates you from this wholeness and peace? In Colossians 3:14, we are encouraged to put on LOVE to achieve this virtue. "Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." This harmony can greatly be achieved in our relationships with others as well. Today in our lives and in many families there is a lack of peace and a lack of contentment. Lives get tangled into the web of busy, busy, busy and the time to be quiet before The Lord and in His presence takes a back seat often for all of us. Over the weekend, I was so blessed by a conference I attended with other women who love Jesus and desire to live more fully before Him. The word that the speaker, Beth Moore, taught on was "longing". She asked the question throughout the day, "What is your longing?" A longing is different from a desire because it is often long in coming to us, as in waiting. She taught us that if we have a deep longing that comes often within our heart, then God has equipped us for it and that it will come. It is similar to our calling in life. So......on this morning, I pray that you and I will seek to know Jehovah Shalom and receive this peace of knowing Him and our purpose and our calling in life. My place of peace and where I seek Him is a simple porch where I can be quiet in all the busyness of my life and begin by seeking to know God better and trust Him with the light and the direction that He desires to shed on my path. May your day be filled with peace and joy and love available to you this moment in the presence of Jehovah Shalom! In Zephaniah 3:17 the Word says, "The Lord your God is in your midst, The Mighty One, He will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
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