Robyn was on the way to the hospital in an ambulance fighting for her life. Doctors realised that she had several blood clots in her lungs and a large one in her heart. On the way to the hospital her husband, Phillip, a former pastor, prayed but felt as if God was not listening to him. Whatever he prayed for, the opposite seemed to happen. At the hospital, doctors got themselves ready to remove the clot in her heart. Unfortunately, by the time she got to the hospital, it had moved to her lungs. When her husband got to the hospital, she told him what had happened. The next thing he knew, she was going into cardiac arrest. The medical team made desperate efforts to remove the clot. 
    While waiting, Phillip prayed. He couldn’t picture his life without his wife. He asked God to show him if there was anything in his heart that he needed to get out of the way. The Holy Spirit asked him if he would give up on Him if He chose not to bring her back. He admitted it would not be easy but he promised Him that he would do his best to keep pressing on, that he would not give up on Him. He would keep standing, he would keep testifying, he would keep preaching. After he said that, he experienced a strange calm. 
    During this time, Robyn had coded and had been without a heartbeat for fifteen minutes. She found herself standing in front of Jesus. She felt awe, joy, peace. It was so bright she could not see His face. Jesus turned towards a particular dark place and He said, “Okay Satan show me what you think you’re going to do.” He went on further to say, “I Am is going to show you what I Am is going to do.” And Jesus breathed a breath and that breath went into Robyn and filled her lungs. Her body raised on the table at the hospital and they knew she was back. 
    Her heart and lungs began functioning again. The doctor expressed concern about possible damage to her brain. However, Robyn made a complete recovery and went home a week later.  
​    A few things caught my attention with this testimony. Phillip was crying out to God. He did not think he could go on without his wife. Yet, when Jesus asked him if he would give up on Him if He decided not to bring his wife back, Phillip affirmed that he would not give up on his God. After declaring that, he felt a strange peace. 
    For the past month I have been talking about God being a God of peace. It is interesting that when we fully surrender that fearful situation to Him, when we even surrender our desire for the outcome to Him, He gives us a peace that makes no sense. The problem may not have changed but we do in the midst of the trial. It’s about trusting God even though the outcome might not be what we would like. 
    While writing this post, after hearing Phillip’s response to God, I told God honestly, “Where would I go?” It was a legitimate rhetorical question  because if God is with me in the storm and giving me the strength I need to go through it, if things don’t work out the way I would like, why turn anywhere else? Who else could I turn to who would give me the peace and strength He provides. Who else would be able to sustain me like He does? Who else would help me both survive and thrive in the midst of a negative situation. For me, I agree with Phillip. I would keep serving God because nothing else would make sense. 
    When Job lost everything, even the support of family and friends, he worshipped God, he did not turn his back on Him. When David went through trial after trial, he never gave up on his God. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his only promised son, he chose obedience to God, thus choosing God over trying to keep his son alive. At the end of the day, our peace comes from knowing that our God is with us in both the good times and bad. He will never fail us, He will never abandon us, He is always there no matter what we may face. Giving up on God is not an option. The peace we so desperately need is all wrapped up in Him!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. The reality is we need God like we need air to breathe. Turning our back on Him is not an option. He is our everything and we are nothing and can do nothing without Him!

    In Mark 5:1-20, Jesus has gone to the region of the Gadarenes. There he meets a man possessed with a legion of evil spirits. This man had been living in the cemetery and attempts to bind and contain him with chains and irons had proved impossible. He was always able to break out of them. As if that wasn’t enough he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 
    What man could not do, Jesus was able to do. He commanded the evil spirits to come out of him and to go into a herd of pigs feeding nearby. When they entered the pigs, the entire herd ran down the hillside into the lake and drowned. When the people of the town heard about it, they came and saw the man clothed and in his right mind. When they found out what had happened, they asked Jesus to leave their area.
    In this short account, we meet a man who had been tormented for some time. We are not told for how long. His situation seemed hopeless because no matter what people tried to do to contain him, their efforts were futile. His torment was obvious because he would cry out and cut himself with stones. It seemed as if his torment would never end. Sometimes, we too may feel like that as we go through our own challenges. We may even find ourselves asking God, “How long?” as we look in vain for some light at the end of the tunnel. 
    What I like about this story is the fact that when Jesus came to that area, no one had told him about this demon-possessed man. He saw him for Himself and understood the torment he was going through. He commanded the evil spirits to come out of him even though the man had not asked for help. I always like to say that God sees, God knows and He cares. We may not always be able to articulate our cry for help but I believe that God sees and hears our tears and our moans and groans. He knows when we are in trouble and He is right there to help even though we may not clearly ask for it. 
    It’s also interesting that Jesus was not intimidated or turned off by the man’s condition. Jesus chose to go to Him. Though many had tried and had given up, the God of the universe was not about to do the same. I love the fact that God loves us enough that He doesn’t give up on us even when others have done so. There is nothing that we can do, there is no state that we can be in, that will stop God from coming to our rescue. God will meet us right where we are, we don’t even have to clean ourselves up first. Others may see us as unreachable, as hopeless, but God see us as worth the effort. And, what man cannot do, God is quite able to accomplish. That’s why we can call Him the God of the impossible!
    Finally, and thankfully, after a season of torment, the man is set free. I say thankfully because if  Jesus did it for him, He will certainly do it for us. It’s encouraging to note that negative seasons do not last forever. Even though to that man and to those around him, it seemed as if he would remain in that state forever, he did not. When Jesus came onto the scene, things changed. The deliverance that seemed impossible became possible. What seemed like it would last an eternity, did not. Your negative season will not last forever. When Jesus is in the picture, even the impossible will become possible. 
        What I also like is the man’s sense of peace which was evident to all. Without Christ, his life was one of torment. But, from the time Jesus stepped onto the scene and reached out to him, transformation took place, and he experienced peace. Our challenges are designed to frustrate, discourage, torment us. But when we let Jesus take charge, He gives us a peace that makes no sense. Even when the challenge has not been resolved, we can be at peace knowing that the Waymaker will make a way for us through our challenge to enable us to overcome it. God will never fail us!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. There is no challenge or trial that is bigger than our God. He sees, He knows and He is able to deliver. When we put our trust in Him, He will not disappoint us.

    As I once again attempt to write on the idea of peace, I admit that it has not been easy finding stories or passages of scripture I have not already written about in the past. Case in point, I have written a few posts on Psalm 23 and felt there was no need to use this Psalm to illustrate the idea of peace again. But, when it comes to God’s Word, I am learning that there is so much you can learn from even one story, one verse or portion of scripture. 
    In Psalm 23 we see a descriptive picture of a shepherd taking care of his sheep. The Psalm begins with the words, “ The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want” (v.1). That very first verse encapsulates and covers what comes in the following verses - because the Lord is my shepherd, my keeper, my support, I will have need of nothing. I used to think that that need mainly referred to physical needs but I have come to realise it does not. Whether I have material, emotional, mental, physical needs, my Shepherd covers them all.
     Here’s the thing, when you think of a shepherd and his sheep, you think of creatures that are heavily dependent on their keeper. They are aware that they cannot take proper care of themselves. At times they may not even be aware of what they need but that’s where the shepherd comes in - He knows their every need and does His best to supply it. It’s the same with us. In our case, we would love to think that we know everything and can take care of ourselves. But the reality is, we don’t know everything and sometimes we make choices and decisions that cause us more harm than good. 
    Verse 2 says: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures.” Clearly, it’s not the sheep who makes the choice to lie down but the shepherd. Similarly with us, God knows when we need to rest and rejuvenate. We ourselves may not know it, but God certainly knows how to help us get the rest we need when we need it. I recall here the story of Jesus and His disciples. He had sent them out two by two to do ministry in various places (Mark 6:7-13). When they returned, He encouraged them to go to a quiet place to rest (v.30-32). Jesus was pleased with their efforts but He knew and understood the importance of rest.
    It is interesting to note however, that sheep will not easily lie down unless certain needs are met. If they are afraid, hungry, bothered by flies or parasites, or facing conflict among themselves, rest is virtually impossible. The shepherd has to first ensure that all these needs are addressed to enable the sheep to get the rest it needs. It’s the same with us actually. I know for me personally, rest can be difficult to attain if I am dealing with fear, conflict or some other distress. I can go to sleep but get up feeling quite tired because my mind is dealing with fear and stress. Yet, I have also learned that when I literally give it God, rest is not so difficult to achieve. 
    So, how does all of this relate to the idea of peace? In pretty much every way! Remember last week I shared a few definitions of peace: freedom from disturbance, tranquility, mental or emotional calm. When we put our confidence in our God, He meets all our needs, frees our mind and spirit from distress and turmoil and ensures that we get the rest we need when and how we need it. Right there is where we can experience peace. It’s the peace where we know that we know that our Shepherd will take care of us, He will leave nothing out but ensure that in every area of our lives, our needs are met. We don’t like when trouble comes, yet, we don’t have to worry, when our Shepherd is right there, ready to tackle on our behalf whatever challenge comes our way. As I always like to say, He has our backs, He will not let us down.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. Our God is truly a Shepherd who sees our every need. He cares and He knows exactly how to help us find rest and peace when we need it. Be encouraged!​

    In Daniel chapter 6, we read the story of Daniel, a Jew who was in the service of the Babylonian king. He conducted himself with such a spirit and attitude of excellence that he found favour with the king who considered putting him in charge of the entire kingdom. The other governors and satraps were not pleased with this and looked for ways to bring charges against him. Unfortunately, they could find none because he truly displayed a spirit of excellence as he carried out his duties.
    They finally encouraged the king to enforce a law whereby anyone praying to any god or person, other than the king himself, within thirty days, would be thrown into the lions’ den. This they did knowing that Daniel prayed regularly to his God. When Daniel found out that the decree had been signed by the king, he went to his room and prayed to his God as was his custom. The men saw him and brought it to the king’s attention. The king in turn did everything in his power to deliver Daniel however, in the end, he had no choice  but to obey the decree he had signed. The next morning, when the king went to check on Daniel, he discovered that the lions had not touched him. Daniel’s God had delivered him. 
    This is a story of God’s miraculous deliverance. It gives us the facts about what happened. However, it does not clearly reveal Daniel’s feelings. What we read is that he heard about the decree and that the king had signed it and that he did exactly what he always did - he went to his room and prayed to his God three times that day. Daniel trusted in his God. He believed in his God. He knew that no matter what happened, his God was in charge and he was going to take care of him. 
    This tells me that Daniel felt peace about the situation. It was what it was, the law had been decreed. No matter what happened, he would still serve his God. I don’t know if fear was present, the account does not say. What it does say is that he went about his business as usual. In fact, when he heard the decree had been signed, he went home and prayed. He did not hesitate, he did not even try to do it in secret. He opened his window toward Jerusalem, as he usually did, and he prayed and gave God thanks.
    Daniel’s peace was because of his confidence and trust in his God. He knew what his God could do. After all, He had delivered his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow before any other god but their own (Daniel 3). And if God could deliver them, He could deliver him as well. 
    In recent times, I have been asking God to fix my eyes and my heart on Him so that no matter what comes my way, I am focused on Him. I may not be able to stop the negative things that will come my way, but I can choose to focus on the One who is able to take me through that situation. I think this is what Daniel did. He chose to keep his eyes fixed on his God. This gave him a sense of peace. No matter how things went, he would not worry, he would not try to compromise to save himself. It was what it was but he was who he was - a servant of the living God and God would take care of him in this situation. The king, on the other hand, was so distressed that he fasted and refused any entertainment, the entire night. The next morning he hurried to the lions’ den hoping to hear that Daniel’s God had delivered him. He was not disappointed and gave glory to Daniel’s God. 
    I pray the same for us, that we would so fix our eyes and heart on our God that no matter what comes our way, we can be at peace knowing that God will take care of us. No one likes when trouble comes, but when our lives are hidden in the God who is able to do all things, we can be at peace. It’s about being at peace in the midst of whatever stormy situation we are facing, because we know that we know that God will take care of us and He will work all things together for our good.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is that agent of peace that enables us to face every negative and fearful situation that comes our way. We can’t stop the negative from happening but when we fix our eyes on Him, He will strengthen us and give us a peace that makes no sense.​