19
Oct
Years ago, what started out as my routine surgery became time spent in the critical care unit (CCU). Due to complications, I required a blood transfusion. As clots formed against the transfused blood, my body rejected the solution.
If my condition didn’t improve, I’d need another surgery. This was not the news I wanted to hear. But isn’t this often our challenge? Eventually, something we don’t want to hear or see makes itself known.
As we try to adjust to life’s disruptions, sooner or later, it may disrupt our peace.
During my hospital stay, every bit of this tension gripped me. Right before exhaustion set in, I noticed the time. It was 9:40 p.m. When I woke up, it felt like hours later. But the clock still said 9:40.
I asked a nurse about my apparent confusion. She said, “Oh I’m sorry. The clock is broken. It’s a little after midnight.” Immediately, two things crossed my mind. The first was a wave of anxiety. The one thing I thought I could track wasn’t trackable. Secondly, I knew God was up to something.
Based on my understanding, time was of the essence. However, I soon realized, I didn’t need to focus on the clock. I needed to focus on the Lord. These words from Isaiah tell us why.
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)
This peace is perfect and lasting because it is a God-centered calm. Maybe you already have it. Perhaps you’re desperate to find it. It begins as we place our faith in Christ. Through Him, we have forgiveness of sin which enables us to make peace with God. (Romans 5:1)
Then living with the peace of God is possible. (Philippians 4:6-7) Similar to my complications after surgery, as life becomes stressful, clots of worry, fear and anxiety form in the soul. These “clots” reject any notion of tranquility and pose a threat to our well-being.
And yet, applying biblical truth to the soul steadies us. As we see life through the lens of Scripture, we can let go of what keeps us from God’s peace.
It’s a powerful place to rest — and rest is essential to our well-being. There’s nothing like a few sleepless nights to remind us of that truth. And there is nothing like fixing our mind on God to remind us He can be trusted.
His power is unmatched, and His love is unfailing. He is a Refuge for a fearful or fragile mind. (Psalm 62:8) In my weakened state, I chose to trust God’s strength. His peace made it possible for my mind to rest and my body to heal. But He used the broken clock to fix the break in my perspective.
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NLT).
While we cannot see the whole scope of God’s work, we can be greatly encouraged. He is doing something beautiful in your life and mine. However, good things take time. We don’t have to let the process take our peace.
PRAYER: Dear God, you know if clots of worry, fear and anxiety are forming in me. As I consider every dilemma and desire in my heart, I don’t want to reject Your solutions and Your peace. I choose to trust You. May every restless and fearful thought dissolve in Your presence. As my daily habit, I want to keep my mind on You. May I release every care and receive Your perfect peace. In Jesus’ name, amen.
JOY TO THE SOUL: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” (Isaiah 26:3 NLT)
Kathy Francescon
Your “Joy” story so touched my heart today! And I’m thankful that God took such wonderful care of you and brought you back to good health physically and spiritually! My brother has recently been diagnosed with throat cancer, and of course all the family is so concerned, worried, and scared. I am praying for his healing of course, but also asking God to keep me grounded in my faith and trust and accepting of His Will during this illness journey for my dear and beloved brother. I am trying so hard to take one day at a time, not think ahead and let all the unknowns make me fearful and frantic. I know that God will be with us and that He already knows the ending. I know I will suffer some weak moments ahead, no doubt! But I know that I can and will find peace and rest in yielding, trusting, and faith. I loved “This peace is perfect and lasting because it is a God centered calm.”
Bless you,Joy…your post today has indeed been a blessing to my well being! May God continue to bless your well being also, dear friend.
Joy
Hi Kathy! I’m glad this post encouraged you. I appreciate your honesty about your concern over your brother’s health. I join you in praying for his healing. May you and your family experience God’s strength and His peace, knowing that He is with you in every step of this journey.
Kathy Francescon
Thank you so very much for your prayers for Larry and my family, Joy. They are so appreciated and I know that our Father God hears all our prayers. We are Christians and know that God is always with us. Larry has other health issues too and this is the scariest part for us. Knowing how sick he may be along the way and the medication he already takes, praying he will still be able to tolerate it all. But, taking one day at a time and trusting in God’s will for him. Thank you again, for your prayers. I am comforted by them already. I will keep you posted along the way…i will keep you in my prayers also and sending you a hug this morning! May God continue to bless your ministry and the comfort your blog gives to all your readers! Your blog is a part of my “joy story” and I am so thankful that God blessed me to find you! Have a beautiful day, dear friend and Sister in Christ.
P.S. I sooo enjoyed the book “Waiting by the Brook” that I was selected to receive a few months back! It was uplifting, encouraging, and took me into such a deeper and richer study of God’s Word! Thank you again that I was blessed to receive it!! I love how God’s Amazing Grace touches our lives in such amazing ways!
Lucille Gaither
I know what you mean by peace. So far this year, I’ve had three surgeries, two in one day and a major robotic one. The LORD really surprised me. But I had tremendous peace through them all, peace that surpassed all human understanding. And I learned how to trust God more and learned what he was teaching me. It was like what He said in Psalm 103, “He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.” One of his ways is to be a specialist in our work. A wise man once said that we should be so good at our job that people would come to us because we are the only one that can do it. My two doctors are physicians in general because of education or schooling and experience. But each of them are specialists in a particular field. They have fine tuned their skills and expertise in a sub-specialty. They will not interfere with another doctor’s treatment. And so that application can be made to the Christian’s life. Though we all are called to witness by spreading the gospel of Christ to everyone, God calls his people to specific tasks, for his glory and praise as depicted in Ephesians 4. I know now why there is a theme that I’ve majored on since salvation – eschatology. In the beginning, I used that word without knowing what it meant. Somebody told me to stop talking about it. Amos 3:7 makes more sense now. “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” are the words of Christ from within. I would not have seen the reason for that focus had it not been for the surgeries. So, in today’s terms, I’ve learned to stay in my lane. And there is tremendous peace found there.
Joy
Hi Lucille! You have an amazing testimony! Thanks so much for sharing how you experienced God as you recovered from your surgeries and in your calling. May you continue to have a His peace.