Nancy Taylor Tate
“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and is safe” Proverbs 18:10. How wonderful to know the One who is the source of our security and safety! And, from that place of peace, we can reach out to others with hope and encouragement.
Rise Up and Come Away, by Wade Taylor, speaks into the call of God for us today. This year, as never before, may we set apart a place where we can get quiet and spend quality time with the Lord. I know of no better way to live, than to cultivate a life filled with worship, prayer, and time in God’s Word.
May I encourage you in your walk with the Lord! Quality times apart with Him are fruitful! Recently, as I walked into a professional appointment, they said, “Whenever I see you, I feel peace!” Then jokingly, “Whether you need an appointment or not, please stop in once a week and it will be on me!”
Our ministry is more than words; it is a life from which others can glean. How wonderful when we can abide in Him, the Prince of Peace, then minister Him to others so they may experience His peace through our lives! May someone else want to know Jesus because of the way we live. May those who already know Christ as their Savior become hungry for more of the Lord.
My own life was impacted because I felt the presence of God in the life of an elderly lady I knew. I sensed a special relationship she had with the Lord, and it caused me to desire that same kind of relationship. I learned it was available – if I chose to cultivate it!
Peace is precious, and much needed in today’s world. This peace can be found in Christ Jesus, regardless of circumstances. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7.
I also love the way a few other translations express this:
“Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (NLT).
“Then, through your union with Christ Jesus, the peace of God, that surpasses all human thought, will keep guard over your hearts and thoughts” (Williams).
Notice it is through our union with Christ that peace dwells in our lives! Christ IN you, the hope of glory! May we make time to receive from the Lord, that there will be substance within us to share with others.
How the world needs this type of ministry today! Not mere doctrine, though important, but the experiential Word of God, written in our hearts, visible to others through our daily lives. May that which is sensed, felt, and seen when others look at us, draw them to Christ!
And may the benefits of peace be with you and bless you as well!
Psalm 37:11 speaks of an abundance of peace. May that abundance be yours! Our promise: “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace” Psalm 29:11. His method: “Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” Isaiah 26:3.
There is a place of peace, of rest, that the Lord is calling us up into. May we be able to say as the Psalmist did, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” Psalm 4:8.
For, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run into it, and is safe” Proverbs 18:10!