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“May the Lord of “peace” himself give you peace always in every way.  The Lord be with all of you” 2 Thessalonians 3:16 CSB

I love what my Bible dictionary says about the original word “peace”, “the opposite of war and dissension.”  This particular use of it in this verse is even better; “gospel of peace” meaning “gospel of bliss, meaning it leads to bliss”.  How about that for peace? God wants to give you bliss in your life, in every way.

But what is bliss?  What would that look like for you?  It’s different for every person. I thought this the other day as I was waiting for my students to show up for a private tennis lesson.  It’s a brother and sister who I’ve been teaching for the past year. On this particular afternoon it was hot, sun was beating down and it was obvious they weren’t thrilled about having to hit a tennis ball.  As I watched their grumpy faces approach the court, I realized they had probably been fighting with Mom the whole way to the courts. Meanwhile, I’d been there for 15 minutes hoping they didn’t show up because it was so hot and I was tired.  None of us wanted to be on the court because of the heat. None of us were feeling blissful.

But the bliss was in the relationship.

I love these kids.  I admire their Mom that week after week she battles their complaints and gets them to the court.  I admire these kids because they don’t ever complain verbally, even though I can see on their faces they aren’t thrilled.  I realized as I waited for them yesterday, I was grateful I had this on my calendar, otherwise I would have been sitting studying, not getting any activity.  That’s not healthy either. I realized, it’s why we need people in our lives. It gets us out of ourselves, it helps us focus on others. I realized quickly, the three of us needed to make the best of this situation and have some fun.  I quickly changed my strategy and turned it into a day of games. We found bliss on a hot tennis court, with the sun beating down on us, a place none of us wanted to be at that moment, we found bliss.

Isn’t that what bliss is?  Making the most of a bad situation.  Finding the good in it and focusing on that instead of the bad.  Isn’t peace trusting that no matter how hot the sun is, God is with you?  He’s in the midst of the battle (Isaiah 41:10). He’s fighting for you, not against you (Romans 8:31 NIV).  His love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:3 NIV).

I know there are very dark days. I know we all have dark nights of the soul that seem impossible.  I know that a hot tennis court seems like a vacation from the heat in your life right now. But I also know this, our God is bigger, our God is brighter.  Our God is here to bring the light, the light of the Son into every dark crevice on earth. He’s got the power, He’s got the peace, He’s got the bliss!

“Jesus said to him, “If you can?  Everything is possible for the one who believes.”  Mark 9:23 CSB

Can you imagine saying to Jesus, “If you can?”  I can’t, because I believe Jesus can do anything.  That was my first thought, my next thought was, “I say that to Him all the time.”  I literally doubt Jesus can do everything. I know I do, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have fear, I wouldn’t have doubt.  I wouldn’t wonder sometimes what is going on, because nothing seems to make sense. I would just trust, knowing Jesus has it.  But I have trust issues, with Jesus.

If we did a poll, and were all honest, I think we all do.

We all have those situations in our lives where we’re not quite sure what is going on.  Everytime you pray, it seems to get worse not better. The minute you give it to God, you immediately pick it back up, not leaving it with Him.  Trust is such a fragile thing, it can be so easily broken. I recently watched Brene Brown’s, “7 Super Tips” on youtube. Tip number four was about trust:

“Trust is built in small moments.”

For instance, I talked the other day about my neighbor Reva accepting my offering of mud pies to her.  That was a small moment of trust. I was probably 5 years old when that happened, yet I have never forgotten it.  It is one of those moments that has always stuck out in my head. Not because she accepted the mud pie, but because she accepted it with love, unconditional love.  It was a love that told a five year old, this lady can be trusted. It was a small moment of trust.

But it could of gone the other way, if she had ridiculed me it would of been a betrayal.  Just as trust is built in small moments, so is betrayal according to Brene. And I have to agree, it is those small moments that make or break relationships.  It is those small moments that make or break our relationship with God. When we offer our mud pie to God, the best we have after a long day on the battlefield of life, He accepts it.  Unconditionally, with love and says, “Well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). We are the ones who betray the trust in those small moments when we don’t offer the mud pie.  We aren’t truly believing He can do something with it. We aren’t trusting it will be received with His unconditional love and grace. But it will, everything is possible to those who believe.  His words says it, we’re to believe it.

“You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy, at Your right hand are eternal pleasures.” Psalm 16:11 CSB

God is life, with Him is abundant joy and eternal pleasures.  No matter what you’re going through in life, He is with you. I was reminded of this last weekend when I watched the Brene Brown special on Netflix, “Call to Courage.” It really would be worth the hour and ten minutes it takes to watch.  At one point she is talking about her God moment which led her to her current path. The moment she described was not when she was on a mountaintop, it was when she was in a valley. When she was at her lowest is when the moment happened.

We all have that moment in our lives when we’ve hit rock bottom.  When we’re done. When we’re curled up in our p.j.’s on the couch, peanut butter jar in one hand, spoon in the other, hiding from the world.  I know I certainly have, more than once and probably not for the last time, unfortunately. But God always shows up. As I listened to Brene’s story unfold, I could see God chasing after as she was sinking, right there ready to catch her when she needed Him too.  That’s how cool God is. He did it for her, He’s done it for me, He’ll do it for you. Just trust Him.

Easier said than done.

I struggle with trusting God.  In fact, recently God has been showing me how much I don’t trust Him.  In ways I didn’t even realize. But in order to take the next step in my life, I must trust Him.  And I find it difficult. I’m tired of being hurt and beat up. Following Jesus isn’t for the faint of heart.  People have lots of opinions about people who follow Jesus, whether inside or outside of the church. You get blamed for them all when you follow Jesus; good, bad and ugly.  There is some ugly out there that no one ever wants to see. I’m a little battle weary these days. I need some rest. I can’t do it by myself anymore, I can only do it with Jesus.

But you know what, I’m living in abundant joy.  I feel more alive than ever. I can see God working everywhere.  I literally can’t wait to see what He’s up to next. Because even if I’m having a hard time trusting Him today, I haven’t forgotten all He has already done for me.  I’m in good hands. And so are you. That I know.

“Gray hair is a glorious crown; it is found in the ways of righteousness.”  Proverbs 16:31 CSB

Hair, in its original form in this verse means “crown of splendor”.  I gave this verse to my mother once in a card, she wasn’t pleased. Gray hair isn’t always a woman’s preference. But a woman who walks with the Lord, it is her crown of splendor for her faith.

I know a woman who has modeled righteousness for me my entire life.  She was one of my mother’s best friends. Today is her 97th birthday.  She lived down the hill from us in Tidal. When Reva came to visit, and I offered her a mud pie as I played outside one sunny afternoon, she accepted it without hesitation.  Reva is an incredible woman. She wears her faith so quietly, you can easily miss the depth of it. But she’s a country woman, and country women know a thing or two about faith.

They understand why God uses farming analogies so often in the Bible.  They know you have to till the land and prepare it for the seed. They know the seed has to have enough water and sunlight to make it grow.  Too much of one or the other will kill it. They know it takes months of growing before it can be harvested. They know the work it takes to bring in the crops.  I can see my mother canning vegetables in our basement, steam rolling all around, sweat dripping off of her face. But the Lord had provided. The months of praying and waiting had come to fruition, God had blessed us.

I have a picture of Reva and my Mom standing together on Reva’s front porch in my guest bedroom.  Mom’s smile beaming to be back with her friend. How I loved those visits on her porch. Getting to sit under the tutelage of such spiritual power houses, not even realizing the privilege at the time.  Listening to them talk as they discuss a lifetime of ups and downs that they had shared together, yet neither of them losing their faith. Their trust in God unswerving, their actions speaking louder than any sermon ever preached.  A lifetime of sharing the gospel, one act of love at a time.

God has given them crowns of splendor for their lives lived in righteousness. He does the same for us.  We may color it, but the gray is still there. It marks a life well lived in Christ. It’s His crown of splendor.

“And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 CSB

When I read this verse, I thought of MacGyver.  Not the MacGyver in the new T.V. show, the MacGyver in the old T.V. show of the 80’s.  In case you have never watched either of them, he’s a super smart guy that week after week he finds himself in precarious situations.  He uses his knowledge and whatever he can find around him to get himself and his friends out of it. Usually duck tape is involved in some way. I loved that show.  The suspense of what he would do was my favorite part. I love how in a voice over, he would explain why each thing he uses is important. Alone it is worthless, but mixed with whatever other things he can find, it saves the day.

God is like the voice over in this scenario.  He’s already provided everything you need for whatever you are dealing with in life, you just need to listen to His voice for direction on how to use it.

Sometimes the blessings are people.  I heard this voice over last week when I was about to take on another project.  “You don’t have to do everything, let someone else have some fun.” Which led me to give the project to someone else to do.  Sometimes it is duck tape. With a recent mishap with the handle on my tennis ball machine, it was duck tape that was the solution.  However it wasn’t until I had become completely frustrated trying to fix it myself that I finally cried out to God for help. The first thing that came to my mind was duck tape.  I instantly told God that there was no way it would work, but I’d try it. Guess what? Duck tape worked.

The hardest part about realizing God has given us everything we need is acknowledging Him in the process.  We get so busy trying to fix everything ourselves. We think we’re doing God a favor by not bothering Him with this small task.  After all, doesn’t He have enough on His hands saving the world? The least I can do is fix a ball machine without Him. But that isn’t what God wants.  God wants to be a part of every little thing in your life. Not only does He want to partner with you as you walk through your days, He wants to be controlling partner.  He wants the deciding vote on what you do, 51% God, 49% you. That’s hard to understand, even harder to swallow sometimes. God will call you to do things you have no desire doing, but yet He is the one we should listen too.  His way is always best, even if we can’t see it in the moment.

God has given you all you need to do what you need to do.  Just listen and follow His directions. He’ll show you the way.

“The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of distress; he cares for those who take refuge in him.”  Nahum 1:7 CSB

Nahum’s name means “comfort” or “consideration” (of God).  He was a minor prophet sometime around 620 B.C. He’s answering questions similar to ones we have today: Has God forsaken us?  Why are our enemies prospering? Nahum’s message to the people still stands strong for us today. God is our stronghold in the day of distress, He will prevail.  He did then, He will now.

Here’s the bottom line:  get used to storms, they’re a part of life.

Living the camping  life, you pay a lot more attention to the weather.  This spring, we have yet to go camping and not get rained on at some point.  The last two weekends, massive storms have blown through with tornado warnings, high alerts, the whole nine yards.  Last night, as I sat through the latest one with my husband I realized something: You need to take advantage of the calm when you have it.

Watch any radar when there is an approaching storm, you’ll see bands of weather.  The first line is typically the worst. That’s when you’ll get the most violent winds and rain.  It’s the moment in life when you get the phone call you never wanted to get, when the bottom drops out and you didn’t see it coming.  That moment when you feel like you’ve been hit by a rogue wave at the beach. That moment when you feel like you got hit by a bus. That’s always the first line of a storm.

But then there is usually a little lull between the first and second band of weather.  This you need to take advantage of to its fullest. In camping terms, it means pull the chairs back out, light the fire, grill the burgers.  Just do it fast because you know there’s another line coming. Before you know it, you’ll be back inside, hunkering down, praying that this blow won’t be as bad as the last.

That is the cycle of a storm, they blow in fast and furious then leave you with a little lull to recover before the next round.  Take advantage of the lulls. Trust that the Lord is your stronghold in the storm. Learn to move with the cycle, stop fighting the inevitable.  Learn instead, to enjoy its rhythm. The rhythm of the storm, the rhythm of life. God is your stronghold, of this you can be sure.

“First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4

Yesterday I talked about God answering my prayer about not sinning in my anger.  I wanted to circle back and talk about the prayer warriors that helped me do that.  It really is what made the difference, them standing in the gap for me.

They each helped me focus back onto God when I was going way off track.  One reminded me that in this world, we really don’t deserve anything. All of the blessings we have are gifts from God, none of them are deserved.  We are all sinners fallen from grace, it is Jesus that makes us whole. One reminded me that there was no way I was going to be able to do this on my own.  The only way I could do it was if I did it with God. So she got that assignment, praying I would do it with God. Another prayed for the hurt I was feeling.  My Weight Watcher’s prayer warriors prayed I wouldn’t “eat” my anger. Yes folks, by the time the clock struck 1:00 I had enlisted 6 different people to pray for me, each was praying very specific things, none of them the same.

God had people stand in the gap for me when I could not pray.

He will do the same for you.  That is why it is so important to build friendships with other Christ followers.  That is why it is so important to develop daily disciplines. If I didn’t start my day out every day in my prayer closet, I wouldn’t of been there when all hell broke loose in the Morrison household.  I wouldn’t of been there to fall to my knees and ask God for help. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t done that. Because I did that, I knew I needed people to stand in the gap for me. Because I have spent years developing the friendships of the people I called,  because we’ve been journeying with Christ together for a long time, they were there to answer the phone and stand in the gap for me.

God has people to stand in the gap for you.  Develop those friendships now, because you don’t know when the day will come that you’ll need them to keep you from sinning in your anger, or whatever other struggle you have.  Take time today to think about who those people are in your life. Develop those relationships. Take it from someone who knows, you’ll need it one day.

“No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity.  But God is faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way out so that you may be able to bear it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13 CSB

I fell in love with God a little bit more yesterday.  He showed me that He truly does give you a way out, and that through Him you really can do all things.  If I haven’t told you before, I have anger issues. It is something I have struggled with me entire life; I’m sure I will continue to struggle with until the day I die.  I have learned many techniques for dealing with this over the years, but there are things that can take me from zero to the name for a female dog faster than anything.

One of those things is when someone hurts my husband.  You do not want to hurt the people I love or the Beth I hope you never meet, comes out.  I’m Mama Bear on steroids when it comes to my man.

Yesterday morning, as I sat down in my prayer closet to write, my husband was hurt deeply by a phone call he was on at that time.  He yelled upstairs to tell me and my anger flared. I could not focus on God, I was so mad I couldn’t see straight. Probably a good thing I was in the prayer closet when I received the news because here is what I did.  I immediately dropped to my knees and I said these very words:

“Lord, I am very angry.  Please keep me from sinning in my anger.”

That was it, I got up and went into battle.  Now this is a very delicate situation. My marriage was under attack, and it was a big one.  I knew that it was a pivotal moment in our marriage that needed to be handled well. I knew I needed back up.  I called in my prayer warriors, told them what was happening. I told them I was so angry I could not pray and I needed them to do it for me.  I told them my main goal was not to sin in my anger.

And I am happy to say, I did not sin in my anger.  The Lord provided a way out. The situation was resolved by 5:00 p.m.  I’m sure I sinned some other way, because we all know I’m no saint. But I did not sin in my anger yesterday.  My marriage, as a result is stronger at this moment than it was 24 hours ago. We went through a storm, but the Lord drove the ship and the glory goes all to Him.

Whatever struggle you’re facing, whatever stronghold you’re trying to overcome, there is only one way you can do it:  with God. Do what I did, drop to your knees and ask Him for what you need. Call in your prayer warriors to cover you in prayer, then go get ‘em.  He won’t let you down. He’s got your back, He’ll provide a way out.

“I will bless those who bless you, I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the people on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3 CSB

These words are found in Genesis when God is calling Abram to move to Canaan.  This is just the beginning of “Abram’s” big adventure. I put his name in quotes to highlight the fact that this is before God has changed his name to Abraham.  Nothing has happened yet, he hasn’t gone to Egypt, he hasn’t saved Lot from destruction, he hasn’t had his name changed to Abraham. But he did believe.

He believed God when he said leave his home land.  He believed God when he said I will make you into a great nation.   He believed God when he said he would make his name great. He believed God when he said he would be a blessing.  He believed God when he said all the people on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:1-3). And so should we.  We should believe what God has said; God has said He will bless us through Abraham.

Abram doesn’t waste time, the very next verse he “went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him” (Genesis 12:4).  It’s interesting that not only did Abram immediately go, but that he took his brother with him. He immediately shared the blessing even though he had no idea what it would be or how God would do it.  He just believed he would.

God has promised to bless you.  His word says it. We should live our lives, like Abram did, believing it.  God was true to His word. He did bless Abram, but it took time. It was 24 years before God changed his name to Abraham (Genesis 17:5). It was 24 years before God established His covenant with Abraham, the one in which He promised to be his God and the God of his descendants, which is us (Genesis 17:7).  In all that time, Abraham was faithful. He didn’t give up, he kept believing. He was righteous in God’s eyes for his faith.

It can be hard waiting for the blessing in the middle of a storm, but God promises it will come.  We have to take a page out of Abraham’s book and keep believing, keep holding on, keep waiting. Eventually, God will fulfill all of His promises, including the one to bless you.  Don’t give up, it may be closer than you think. It might even be today.

“Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord.”  Psalms 9:10

I have a prayer closet.  I was inspired after the movie “War Room.”  My husband and I went to see it one night in September of 2015.  The very next day I cleaned out our guest room closet and put a chair in it.  I have to admit, at first it felt silly to sit in a closet with my Bible. I started simply by just doing my Bible reading, writing in my journal.  Since that time it has evolved into a sacred place in my home. I now have a desk, I sit on an exercise ball, the walls are covered in scriptures and prayer requests.  I have a “bucket” where all answered prayers go. It’s my office, it’s where the Lord and I meet. It is my favorite place on earth. When my heart is broken, it is where I come.  When I rejoice, it’s where I come to rejoice with Him. When I’m not home, I miss it. It’s always the first place I come too when we get back. It’s where I know I will always find God.  It’s our special place.

My desktop has a glass overlay on it.  Underneath it is more scripture and inspirational quotes I’ve acquired over the years.  This morning, when I sat down to write, I saw this one:

FAITH IS ACTING LIKE GOD IS TELLING THE TRUTH!

I have no idea where I found it or who wrote it, but just as I did here, it’s written in all capital letters on my desk.  That means, whenever I wrote it, I was telling myself, don’t forget it. And until this morning, I hadn’t thought of it. But isn’t it true?  Isn’t that exactly what faith is, acting like God is telling the truth.

When God says He won’t abandon you, He means it.  He really won’t. So why do we act like He does? Just because we don’t feel His presence?  Just because He’s not doing what we think He should do? Or is it because we don’t think we’re worthy of His attention?  Or He was never really with us in the first place?

I have no idea why you might feel like God has abandoned you, but  I can tell you for sure, He hasn’t. I know this because His word says repeatedly He won’t.  A quick google search brought up 107 verses saying that very thing. Isn’t it time we all started acting like God is telling the truth?  If we never try we’ll never know, we’ll never grow, we’ll never experience all God has for us. Determine to make that your goal today, no matter what, trust God and act like He’s telling the truth.