a) exemption from the rage and havoc of war
2) peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord
3) security, safety, prosperity, felicity,
4) of the Messiah's peace
a) the way that leads to peace (salvation)
5) of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is
6) the blessed state of devout and upright men after death
7) to set at one again."
whoa whoa whoa.
did you catch all those? like really bathe in them? i hope so :)
especially that last one there, "to set at ONE again."
i believe some blindfolds have been taken off my face in the last several weeks specifically in the arena of the chaos, noise, constant movement, distraction & myriad choices of our technologically driven microwave-society that we in this generation have come to know as "normal".
i can feel it, i'm sure we all can feel it...when that dreaded sense of our simplicity, our focus, and our deep, abiding soul rest starts to slowly [oftentimes unknowingly] leak out from us. it's as though we've all got some umbilical cord connected to technology [i.e. phones, facebook, email, chat, etc.]
although all this technology indeed has such enormous amounts of positive aspects, i reckon it's SOO vital to take stock periodically and discern whether technology is serving us.
or whether we are slaves to it.
because it will mean a slow, steady death to our souls if we allow it.
i've felt the Holy Spirit gently nudge me every-so-often to pray instead of text friends in those free moments while waiting for the bus.
or to meditate on a couple Truths while i'm waiting for a friend at a coffee shop instead of checking my email. again.
or perhaps to deny my striving soul's desire for distraction & movement [an oftentimes false feeling of "productivity" or "achievement"] and make the brave choice to sit in complete silence & solitude when i'm already feeling particularly lonely...hoping against all hope that my moment of lonliness will be met overabundantly by my all-knowing Creator, and not by anyone or anything else.
"Wait on the Lord. Trust in the Lord. Be encouraged. And WAIT on the Lord...in Him alone is all our hope"
and what does wait mean but to:
stay. tarry. remain. stick around for a while. stop. halt. say "no" to some things, perhaps MANY things [especially the GOOD things sometimes] so that we can more fully give our "yes!" to other, far more valuable, BEST things.
if we can only make it through that initial soul scream that says "but i don't want to feel that question again deep in my soul. i don't want to feel that initial tinge of lonliness. i don't want to be still only to feel & hear nothing..."
oh God, make us brave.
help us make that choice to wait on You alone. daily.
to be still & quiet our hearts and minds...giving Him alone our "yes!" knowing that, in one way or another, He will indeed meet us. EVERY STINKIN TIME. in one way or another.
because He alone knows us perfectly. and sees us constantly. and has walked every step of life with us. no one else can stake claim to that kind of intimacy with YOU my friend. no one else.
may that gut-level Peace that nothing and no one can give us or take from us be guarded with all we got. every day. by whatever means possible, even when it may appear we're being "too serious" or "fanatical."
it's worth it.
'cause He's worth it.
