"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:7.
My last post touched on Davids state of "joy". I described this as a state of being rather than a emotion.
The verse above indicates that the lives of those who were listening were having difficulty, perhaps suffering and struggle (the verses before 7 outline this and put it into better context). We only have to look at history, look at people we know(both believers and non-believers) to know that this is so. In fact the bible seems to indicate quite clearly that taking Jesus seriously almost guarantees that our lives will be difficult.
It seems that drawing into a "with-God" life brings with it a peace and joy which will be robust enough to withstand pain, suffering, struggle. It will guard my soul, heart and body as I weather the storm. Comforting thought.
Usually when my life goes pear-shaped, I drift away from God. Perhaps this is because I haven't been practising "keeping the Lord always before me" for very long. Perhaps as I get better at doing this, I will be more likely to have a soul that is conditioned to peace and joy - whatever the situation.
"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding". With God comes a lot of mystery.
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Water
"Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'" Jesus. John 7: 37-38
Awesome words. It makes my hairs stand on end when I read this. Can't say I feel this way - I'm a believer!! Again, this passage - spoken by Jesus - shows me that there are some amazing things to discover as I move towards a "with - God" life.
My last post spoke of David's heart being glad, soul rejoicing, body resting secure. As his inner life started to transform, did his outward life "flow rivers of living water". I hope it did. It really sounds like this "flowing" is a natural consequence to the inner life being transformed. Awesome.
It strikes me that joy (what David was feeling) is a state of being rather than an emotion. I guess it very much like "positive mental health", "a state of good mind", "balanced?". But it encompasses the heart, soul and body. As a Youthworker, I teach kids that our minds and our bodis are inter-connected - an affect on one "knocks-on" to the other and vise-versa (e.g. negative stress causes me to get tight shoulders). It seems that David knew this quite clearly.
Awesome words. It makes my hairs stand on end when I read this. Can't say I feel this way - I'm a believer!! Again, this passage - spoken by Jesus - shows me that there are some amazing things to discover as I move towards a "with - God" life.
My last post spoke of David's heart being glad, soul rejoicing, body resting secure. As his inner life started to transform, did his outward life "flow rivers of living water". I hope it did. It really sounds like this "flowing" is a natural consequence to the inner life being transformed. Awesome.
It strikes me that joy (what David was feeling) is a state of being rather than an emotion. I guess it very much like "positive mental health", "a state of good mind", "balanced?". But it encompasses the heart, soul and body. As a Youthworker, I teach kids that our minds and our bodis are inter-connected - an affect on one "knocks-on" to the other and vise-versa (e.g. negative stress causes me to get tight shoulders). It seems that David knew this quite clearly.
Mind
"I keep the Lord always before me;because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure" Psalm 16: 8-9.
Interesting and solid words spoken by David - a king. and what a discovery for him!
This might be the first and most basic thing I need to do as I strive towards living every minute of my life in community with God.
But life gets busy, I get pre-occupied with things, work, jobs around the house, spending time with the kids, friends, family, making love? - the list goes on - how about when I'm feeling anrgy, happy, annoyed, sleepy, sad. I guess there is no time in my life nor any activity which God isn't interested in or wants to be part of.
This would have been the same for David, or any other follower of God throughout the ages, David has come across a secret - an important "practice" in seeking God. I can share in this secret - David's story can be mine too.
I am amazed at the passion I hear in the verse - his heart being glad, his soul rejoicing and his body resting(interesting that he sees his heart, soul and body as seperate things). Perhaps signs that things are working for David in regards to discovering the secrets of the "with-God life".
And to me practise is the key to getting this idea happening. Like any discipline, whether it be swimming, bike riding, reading, writing, running, surfing - I need to practise it. I can't expect to get it worked out first time around, it takes days, weeks, months, years to master things.
So hear I go, I'm going to practise "keeping God before me".
Interesting and solid words spoken by David - a king. and what a discovery for him!
This might be the first and most basic thing I need to do as I strive towards living every minute of my life in community with God.
But life gets busy, I get pre-occupied with things, work, jobs around the house, spending time with the kids, friends, family, making love? - the list goes on - how about when I'm feeling anrgy, happy, annoyed, sleepy, sad. I guess there is no time in my life nor any activity which God isn't interested in or wants to be part of.
This would have been the same for David, or any other follower of God throughout the ages, David has come across a secret - an important "practice" in seeking God. I can share in this secret - David's story can be mine too.
I am amazed at the passion I hear in the verse - his heart being glad, his soul rejoicing and his body resting(interesting that he sees his heart, soul and body as seperate things). Perhaps signs that things are working for David in regards to discovering the secrets of the "with-God life".
And to me practise is the key to getting this idea happening. Like any discipline, whether it be swimming, bike riding, reading, writing, running, surfing - I need to practise it. I can't expect to get it worked out first time around, it takes days, weeks, months, years to master things.
So hear I go, I'm going to practise "keeping God before me".
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