Says my God, “for the wicked."
I came across this verse in my reading for yesterday. In this chapter God talks about the way He is dealing with Israel. God talks about the sinner whom He will restore and care for. But the chapter ends with the verse above. There is NO peace for the wicked.
No Peace. No peace with God. No peace of God. No peace at all.
Yesterday had begun to be a good day. My son and I were headed home from his audition at a conservatory. We were talking, had a good lunch at Arby's and had one more stop before we headed for home. I needed to stop and get our monthly groceries at Walmart.
It was 3:00 in the afternoon. We got all of our shopping done in 50 minutes. I was excited! We would make it home in time for dinner. Everything was going as planned until the check-out lane. My Visa card was declined - TWICE! I had just used it for lunch. There was no reason this should happen. I panicked. I used a different card, but was confused, frustrated, hurt, embarrassed. This should not have happened.
So we needed gas - same thing again. WHAT IS GOING ON? But instead of turning to the LORD and resting in Him, my anger started, and kept on building. By the time I got home I was furious with the bank. HOW DARE THEY! I hadn't planned on telling on my husband until later because he was speaking and I didn't want to trouble him. But I had gotten so worked up that it was the first thing that poured out of my mouth when I saw him.
I called the bank to find out the problem and they said they couldn't talk to me until I told them my phone password. For the life of me I can't even remember setting up a phone password. They told me my card had fraudulent activity on it. But they could disclose no more details without the password. So I hung up on them, angry and more frustrated than before.
What does all this have to do with the verse "There is no peace for the wicked." Am I saying I am wicked? Is that why all this happened to me?
Whether we like it or not, peace is important to us. Turmoil brings confusion, panic, wrong choices. Peace means I can go through a situation and it doesn't matter what happens, I can rest in it. I am not at battle with the world around me. But this peace starts with being at peace with God.
Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace."
By trusting the LORD Jesus as my Saviour, I can have peace. But it has to start there. Nothing on my own can bring peace into my life. I can never be strong enough, or smart enough to have peace in everything. Only in Jesus Christ can I know true peace.
That's where being at peace with God starts. But having the peace of God - well that's letting Him RULE in my heart.
I'm very good at have a daily quiet time - spending time with God, reading His Word, reading devotional books. BUT my tendency is to do these all on a daily basis, but then go on my own way. To walk with Him moment by moment - that's a different story. When the clerk told me it had been refused for the second time. I didn't call out to God. I didn't even think of Him. My only thoughts were, "HOW EMBARRASSING! The clerk knows it's been declined and so does the person behind me as well as my own son!" My thoughts were NOT, "God has allowed this into my life for a reason and I must trust Him!"
Am I a wicked person? Yes, I am. And it comes through at times that I would rather it not. The thing is I forget that I am. BUT I have been redeemed. I don't have to live that way. But it's learning to live moment by moment, second by second, relying on the LORD and His strength, not my own.
When I first started writing today, I thought this was going to be about the wicked of the earth, those without Christ. But as I wrote, God showed me that my walking without Him, means there is no peace for me. I need to walk with Him moment by moment. That's the only way I can have true peace continuously.
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