The Monday Morning Devo for February 2,2015
Years ago after finishing a difficult project, a subcontractor told me he needed a break from working with me. Not that there was an issue we with personally but the demands of the client were so outrageous he started losing his peace. Then he said to me something that blew my mind. He shared how he won’t allow anything to disturb his peace, because without peace, he can’t discern God.
No opportunity or amount of money would be worth it, if he lost his daily, tangible awareness of God.
That statement has stuck with me for years.
I understand times can be stressful or demanding, but it would seem, according to my friend, all stress isn’t necessary. Or as he may put it, God does not ordain situations in our lives that can silence our awareness of Him.
I remember hearing a teaching many years ago about Colossians 3:15 where it says, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” It was taught to me that God’s peace ruling should be like an umpire calling out situations as good or bad. And the best way to discern whether or not we needed to make a decision was by the peace of God in our heart.
I wonder how many of us allow the status of our heart… its yea or nay, to be our umpire or judge?
How would you compare using your heart, your intuition versus your mind–like maybe a list of pros versus cons?
Consider the verse in Philippians 4:7 where it says, The peace of God surpasses all understanding. In other words, God’s peace is not the same as an answer or wisdom. It surpasses or transcends information.
Not that I’m against wisdom or knowledge.
But it’s the peace of God that rules the heart, not informs the mind.
However, if you can’t discern your heart, if it’s dull or you’re used to following it, I think general wisdom is a good backup plan.
So my prayer for you and me for this week will be:
(1) We recognize and remove anything in our lives that is blocking our ability to discern God, be they stresses or sins.
(2) We take time daily to feel before we think, to sense before we see, and follow our heart’s urging or yea or nay, even if we don’t understand.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.