Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you . . . —John 14:27

There are times in our lives when our peace is based simply on our own ignorance. But when we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace, because the words that He speaks are always “spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). Have I ever received what Jesus speaks? “. . . My peace I give to you. . .”— a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment.

Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused by the waves and the turbulence God sovereignly allows to enter your life? Have you left no stone of your faith unturned, yet still not found any well of peace, joy, or comfort? Does your life seem completely barren to you? Then look up and receive the quiet contentment of the Lord Jesus. Reflecting His peace is proof that you are right with God, because you are exhibiting the freedom to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. Allowing anything to hide the face of Jesus Christ from you either causes you to become troubled or gives you a false sense of security.

With regard to the problem that is pressing in on you right now, are you “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and receiving peace from Him? If so, He will be a gracious blessing of peace exhibited in and through you. But if you only try to worry your way out of the problem, you destroy His effectiveness in you, and you deserve whatever you get. We become troubled because we have not been taking Him into account. When a person confers with Jesus Christ, the confusion stops, because there is no confusion in Him. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:27).

I have called you friends . . . —John 15:15

Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . —Matthew 5:3

The New Testament notices things that do not seem worthy of notice by our standards. “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . . .” This literally means, “Blessed are the paupers.” Paupers are remarkably commonplace! The preaching of today tends to point out a person’s strength of will or the beauty of his character— things that are easily noticed. The statement we so often hear, “Make a decision for Jesus Christ,” places the emphasis on something our Lord never trusted. He never asks us to decide for Him, but to yield to Him— something very different. At the foundation of Jesus Christ’s kingdom is the genuine loveliness of those who are commonplace. I am truly blessed in my poverty. If I have no strength of will and a nature without worth or excellence, then Jesus says to me, “Blessed are you, because it is through your poverty that you can enter My kingdom.” I cannot enter His kingdom by virtue of my goodness— I can only enter it as an absolute pauper.

The true character of the loveliness that speaks for God is always unnoticed by the one possessing that quality. Conscious influence is prideful and unchristian. If I wonder if I am being of any use to God, I instantly lose the beauty and the freshness of the touch of the Lord. “He who believes in Me . . . out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). And if I examine the outflow, I lose the touch of the Lord.

Who are the people who have influenced us most? Certainly not the ones who thought they did, but those who did not have even the slightest idea that they were influencing us. In the Christian life, godly influence is never conscious of itself. If we are conscious of our influence, it ceases to have the genuine loveliness which is characteristic of the touch of Jesus. We always know when Jesus is at work because He produces in the commonplace something that is inspiring.

Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
Thank you for the clarity that we can use defensiveness as a “dashboard indicator” that we are disconnected from you. We never saw you being defensive. When we are defensive … from someone wanting to control us or put us down … we can look to our connection with you … And we will find peace. Even in the storm and even if the people attacking us dont change. That is the other dashboard indicator … the Peace Meter. If our Peace Meter is at 100%, we can be assured that, as the song says, “it is well with my soul” These are really helpful indicators. But knowing about them and walking in peace all the time without any defensiveness are two different things. How do we implement … turn this knowledge into wisdom?

Dont get too analytical. Analysis of peace will chase the peace away. Rather, keep these dashboard indicators in the background. Dont look at them all the time. that is not peace. Just like in your car, look at them occasionally and know the ones that need immediate attention. Those will flash or even buzz. Like the low fuel gage. or the seatbelt alarm. Stress and defensiveness are like those. The solution is to step back, come to me, remind yourself that I am with you, and stay curious, knowing that you and I can have peace, even when another person is fighting their own demons. Let the peace sneak up on you. Notice it happily and move on with what’s next. That’s the best kind.

. . . and I will give you rest —Matthew 11:28

Come to Me . . . —Matthew 11:28

God intends for us to live a well-rounded life in Christ Jesus, but there are times when that life is attacked from the outside. Then we tend to fall back into self-examination, a habit that we thought was gone. Self-awareness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of our life in God, and self-awareness continually produces a sense of struggling and turmoil in our lives. Self-awareness is not sin, and it can be produced by nervous emotions or by suddenly being dropped into a totally new set of circumstances. Yet it is never God’s will that we should be anything less than absolutely complete in Him. Anything that disturbs our rest in Him must be rectified at once, and it is not rectified by being ignored but only by coming to Jesus Christ. If we will come to Him, asking Him to produce Christ-awareness in us, He will always do it, until we fully learn to abide in Him.

Never allow anything that divides or destroys the oneness of your life with Christ to remain in your life without facing it. Beware of allowing the influence of your friends or your circumstances to divide your life. This only serves to sap your strength and slow your spiritual growth. Beware of anything that can split your oneness with Him, causing you to see yourself as separate from Him. Nothing is as important as staying right spiritually. And the only solution is a very simple one— “Come to Me . . . .” The intellectual, moral, and spiritual depth of our reality as a person is tested and measured by these words. Yet in every detail of our lives where we are found not to be real, we would rather dispute the findings than come to Jesus.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord,
This business of Coming to You. It seems like it should be so simple … and maybe someday it will be. But stumbling away from you, pursuing some project or thought or stress or emotion … it’s so easy. And I find myself away and with you nowhere in my thoughts. Then I jerk my mind back to you but it only stays fixed on you for a period of time… then wanders off again. I must be doing something wrong.

You are describing exactly the self awareness and self analysis that Chambers is referring to in the devotion today. It will rob your joy and send you in a tailspin of analysis … in which you will never measure up or be “good enough” Look at your dog. And live like him. at least in this aspect. He lives in the moment. He does not analyze himself to see whether he has been thinking about you enough. Or whether he is being an adequately “good dog” When he sees you, he’s instantly ready to go. Throw a stick. There’s no analysis about the trajectory of the arc or whether getting the stick is an A, B, or C priority. He just lives in the moment and goes all out, going after the stick.

Of course there are some add-ons to the metaphor when we move it from dogs to humans. But analysis and continual self criticism is not one of the human capabilities that leads to a happy, peaceful life. Simply dedicate each day to following me and watching for clues and just live in the moment, giving 100% to the tasks at hand. Stay curious and I will lead you. If you dedicate your life and your day to me and you dont sense me for a time…. perhaps I’m taking off the training wheels and watching to see how you do. Dont worry, I have not left you. I will never leave you or forsake you …. even if you dont feel me always.

When he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich —Luke 18:23

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him —Hebrews 12:5

Do not quench the Spirit —1 Thessalonians 5:19

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26

When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.

“. . . O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.

There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.

We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning, Lord.
Thank you for the rain today. It’s a good picture of two ways to look at things. I could be stressed out that the camp is getting cancelled, so the schedule won’t be met … and the jobs won’t get done…. or I can rejoice in the “freed up time” in which I can re-calibrate and look to you, to see how to spend it.

These come from two different world views. On the one hand you can try to organize everything, think the best positive thoughts, and try real hard, attract good things, and wind up with a good life and “success.” In other words, you can try to be me. Not a good plan. Tiredness, Disillusion and Depression lie down that road.

The other world view is that since you are not God and are very imperfect, and you have an invitation from the God who is perfect to join Him in an adventure … that you set aside your preconceptions and look to me, learn to see as I see, feel as I feel. Then when you are confused by circumstances of life, you can just step back and be curious for a moment …knowing that I have all things under control and in due time all will be revealed. Perhaps in a way that currently seems good to you. But perhaps not. But it will be my way and I have good plans for you. A person who lives like that will live at rest and at peace. I can be trusted. Really.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:4-6).

. . . they found Him in the temple . . . . And He said to them, ’. . . Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ —Luke 2:46, 49

Our Lord’s childhood was not immaturity waiting to grow into manhood— His childhood is an eternal fact. Am I a holy, innocent child of God as a result of my identification with my Lord and Savior? Do I look at my life as being in my Father’s house? Is the Son of God living in His Father’s house within me?

The only abiding reality is God Himself, and His order comes to me moment by moment. Am I continually in touch with the reality of God, or do I pray only when things have gone wrong— when there is some disturbance in my life? I must learn to identify myself closely with my Lord in ways of holy fellowship and oneness that some of us have not yet even begun to learn. “. . . I must be about My Father’s business”— and I must learn to live every moment of my life in my Father’s house.

Think about your own circumstances. Are you so closely identified with the Lord’s life that you are simply a child of God, continually talking to Him and realizing that everything comes from His hands? Is the eternal Child in you living in His Father’s house? Is the grace of His ministering life being worked out through you in your home, your business, and in your circle of friends? Have you been wondering why you are going through certain circumstances? In fact, it is not that you have to go through them. It is because of your relationship with the Son of God who comes, through the providential will of His Father, into your life. You must allow Him to have His way with you, staying in perfect oneness with Him.

The life of your Lord is to become your vital, simple life, and the way He worked and lived among people while here on earth must be the way He works and lives in you.

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Journal DJR
Good Morning Lord
I really mean it. It is a good morning and I am grateful for all you’ve done and continue to do. Thank You.
The central line of the song today … Fix my eyes on you… and the message from Oswald, Get identified and stay identified with Christ as a child in the Father’s House … They go together and lay down a challenge: It is a simple recipe for the good life of a Christian, But I find it fairly easy to fall away and backslide into running things my own way and getting stressed out about it. Is there anything I’m missing?

You approach this with too much black and white thinking. You tend to categorize a thought as “from you” or “from me.” It would be better to invite me into all your thinking. Then I can take you into my thinking. You’ll be surprised. Many of your thoughts, I can make even better. And I can direct you on how to handle the ones that are from the dark side.