"Peace"

That old stressful feeling,

Back when nothing much was right,

Still will sometimes dog you,

And in your dreams at night,

You’re still back in that struggle,

With who you tried to be,

When those who really knew you,

Could very clearly see,

That you were born a cowboy,

And God made you that way,

And you tried to deny it,

To make yourself okay.

And said you’d do without it,

Surrendered who you are,

To the Good Lord’s Spirit,

And the trails you went so far,

Taught you many lessons,

‘Bout your identity,

To lay down your old ego,

And die to self, you see.

But then your whole life shifted,

To take you somewhere new,

And God knows He is for you,

And will show you what to do.

That stress that is left over,

You now can leave behind,

And in the name of Jesus,

By His grace you can find,

A peace that comes when sleeping,

Just like when you’re awake,

So give your night to Jesus,

And all your stress He’ll take.

“…HIs peace will guard your hearts and minds…” (Philippians 4:7, NLT)

Our hearts and minds need God’s help. What has happened in the past will always be a part of how we feel and what we think, for better or for worse. Some of us have such strong guilt and regret over our history we get bogged down and miss today’s opportunity. What is the answer? In a nutshell, God’s peace. His peace is stronger than any failure, worry, or regret we have. His peace will guard and defend us. And the beautiful thing about the peace is that we don’t earn it. It is a gift that we can receive because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Let His peace rule.

Lord, relieve our struggles and guard us with Your peace, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Bill Anton, billantonstudios.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Bill, and God bless you.