“PEACE IS MY CONTINUAL GIFT TO YOU. It flows abundantly from My throne of grace. Just as the Israelites could not store up manna for the future but had to gather it daily, so it is with My Peace. The day-by-day collecting of manna kept My people aware of their dependence on Me. Similarly, I give you sufficient Peace for the present, when you come to Me by prayer and petition with thanksgiving. If I gave you permanent Peace, independent of My Presence, you might fall into the trap of self-sufficiency. May that never be!
I have designed you to need Me moment by moment. As your awareness of your neediness increases, so does your realization of My abundant sufficiency. I can meet every one of your needs without draining My resources at all. Approach My throne of grace with bold confidence, receiving My Peace with a thankful heart.”
Exodus 16: 14-20
“14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes appeared on the desert floor. They looked like frost on the ground. 15 The people of Israel saw the flakes. They asked each other, “What’s that?” They didn’t know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It’s the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Each one of you should gather as much as you need. Take two quarts for each person who lives in your tent.’ “
17 The people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, and some gathered a little. 18 When they measured it out, those who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And those who gathered a little had enough. All of them gathered only what they needed
19 Then Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.”
20 Some of them didn’t pay any attention to Moses. They kept part of it until morning. But it was full of maggots and began to stink. So Moses became angry with them.
Philippians 4:6-7, 19
“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Hebrews 4:16
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
God did not create us to meet our own needs. He created within us a thirst and a hunger for Him. He is the supplier of all of our needs and it is to God we should go for all.
I used to go to people or things to sustain me. I received validation from words of praise or the pat on the back or the “I love you” from my loved ones or friends. It made me feel good to spend money on material possessions for my family and my home…you know what I mean…getting what we wanted would fill my need. The problem with being a self-gratifying seeker is we are looking to earthly gods to sustain us. The people and the “things” could only satisfy me for a moment and then I become dissatisfied because what I received was only temporary and it was always based on my condition.
“We don’t look for things that can be seen but for things that can’t be seen. Things that can be seen are only temporary. But things that can’t be seen last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
I was looking for my satisfaction in what I could see, touch, taste and feel. I was putting my trust in the temporary when I should have only trusted the eternal God to meet my needs. I was flitting from person to person, my husband, my children, my parents, my siblings, my friends, my co-workers….to offer me validation for those things I accomplished within my own strength. I never found it because I could never meet their expectations nor could they always meet mine.
I understand so much better now, about where my heart needs to be, in regard to who meets my needs than I ever was in the past. This does not mean I can become complacent though. I have to be intentional. It would be so easy to become that person seeking in all the wrong ways to have my cravings satisfied. I do not want to be that flitting woman anymore. We need to be centered on His will for our lives. We need to be committed to those things He has asked us to do. Our eyes and ears need to be fixed on Him and the plans He has for us. That’s where the Peace comes from…being confident in who we are through Him.
I am imagining God’s Peace as a waterfall pouring over a mountain and we are all standing in the pool of His Peace letting it wash over us for eternity.
This is my prayer for you today…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtD3gb3AiTo&feature=related
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