Thursday, May 1, 2008

Present Peace


It's been almost a month since we've been in Nicaragua and God is still revealing things to me. We experienced some amazing things the week we were there. God showed up in the church services, in our silly dramas, and even in our ridiculous dances (all I'm gonna say is "It sure is hot out here!" LOL). I'm always blown away by how God moves in people's hearts during a missions trip. I still remember the first trip I ever went on to Barbados(it wasn't as exotic as it sounds, we were really roughin' it for Jesus). I remember the faces of the people and children like it was yesterday. I always walk away from each trip with a greater sense of God's peace. A peace that constantly builds upon itself. Just when I think I couldn't experience any greater peace, God gives me more. Especially in specific areas of my life. There are so many experiences that God has introduced new peace into my life. For example, I never imagined I could feel peace gliding across a zip line thousands of feet above the ground, but I did. (With the help of my guide, Rambo!)

I was thinking about that and then I was reading this morning that "to experience peace, we must be feeding our relationship with God." Then I read "you can't retain peace in the present by relying on a relationship from the past." It became clear to me that we experience more peace, when we experience more of God. Our relationship with him is a journey. Peace is not a one-stop drop or similar to something we'd order from fast food drive through. God's peace is continual. It's just up to us, how deep and how often we experience it. We need to be open to experience all that he has for us. We need to be willing to keep our relationship with him in the present.