Advent–PEACE

Advent Week 2–PEACE

By Heather Riggelsen

Isaiah 26:3

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

Psalm 27:3

I would have despaired had I not believed I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Luke 2:14

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests”

The Path to Peace

By Heather Riggelsen

Parenting has been a wild ride for me. From the time I conceived my firstborn until the recent past, my experience as a parent has been filled mostly with feelings of overwhelm, stress and anxiety. Unlike some other girls I knew growing up, I did not acquire an arsenal of skills from babysitting: in fact, I avoided the nurseries and holding other peoples’ babies in general. It wasn’t that I didn’t like kids, because I did; and I knew I wanted to be a mother. I guess I was just saving up all my mothering energy for the real thing. And boy, have I needed every ounce of that energy for this decade long journey I’ve been on.

On top of the sleep deprivation, illnesses, and general drain of caring for little ones that comes with full time parenting, our family has also had the extra challenge of parenting special needs children. I do not care to express all the challenges added to the load by this added factor, but suffice to say I have never felt more trapped, humiliated or powerless in my life. Peace was nowhere to be found as our home was constantly filled with chaos, strife, confusion and despair.

About two and a half years ago, I reached out to some family friends for prayer and guidance during a particularly stressful time. The LORD spoke a prophetic word through them that spoke exactly to where I was in the moment. One of them saw a picture of me on a path, with many twists and turns. It was a rough, rocky path, strewn with boulders and obstacles. I was scrambling around all these obstacles and each one represented a circumstance in which I needed to make a decision. One friend speaking prophetically declared that God was going to make the path level and smooth. Other promises were declared over my family that day. Hope and courage were spoken into me. Direction was given. I left that experience and felt like the woman at the well: the LORD had seen me, knew everything about me, and had decreed what He was going to do about my situation.

Change was not instantaneous, but in my heart God had given me supernatural peace. Now, instead of floundering in a sea of disappointment and hopelessness, I knew the outcome was going to be good! And in that moment, I chose to trust God for that outcome. As the Scripture says in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” We don’t always feel steadfast, but we can play our part in the faith process, even when we feel faithless. I like to think of it this way: Peace is available to me every day – trust is how I access it. NO MATTER the circumstances, we can always look to God’s written word, as well specific words we have received, and stand on them as truth. God will do what He says He will do!

As I write this today, the leveling out that was prophesied is my reality. There is more peace within this last year than the entire decade previously! Are there still trials? Sure. Struggles? Yes. But there is also this beautiful fruit that was not there before, born of struggle and searching; and the fruit of peace we now experience can be attributed to none other than the LORD’S sovereign goodness.

Reflect:

What are the promises you are standing on to see fulfilled? Do you feel God’s sovereign rest in your life, or do you struggle to believe He is good? How can you sow into trust? Who can agree with you in prayer for the promises He has spoken?

Let’s Pray:

I pray that this holiday season we would rest in the promises of God…that He would pour out His peace over our circumstances…that we would choose to trust God in the waiting… that as we believe in His faithfulness, we will experience peace, and indeed see the goodness of God in the land of the living.

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:14