Deep Abiding Peace

Peace within the soul is a joy to all who have it. But with the darkness of the world and the uncertainties of life, many live with only passing moments of peacefulness. Christ has promised you so much more. He wants to house something in your soul that abides, that stands the test of time and life itself. Today we will talk about what that peace is, what cannot replace it, and how to build the real thing in your life. 

- How would you define the word "peace"?

- Is this even attainable in the physical world?

- If you are struck by despair, will you reach out for help?

- Can a cup of coffee or moments of happiness ever replace real peace in Jesus?

- How can T.A.G. change everything for you, one day at a time?

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Excel Still More podcast. I am your host, Chris Emerson. I'm here to encourage you in your walk with God. Thank you for joining in. Today's podcast is sponsored by Cunningham Financial Group. John Cunningham is a friend of mine and a brother in Christ, and he can help you with financial decisions and future planning. He's been a big help to me and my family, and I commend him to you. You can reach him at 205-913-1720. I am so thankful you're here, so let's get started. I want to jump right in today on a topic that is very important to me and to my family. Deep abiding peace. This is something offered to us through the goodness of Jesus Christ. It is something not only available to you, but promised to you by God that it will surpass anything you can comprehend or measure, and it will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus no matter what. We'll look at this from different angles and have some practical things at the end. But let's start with a simple definition. Most dictionaries attach the word tranquility to peace, and I think that's a wonderful place to start. Having peace in your life and in your heart means a consistent tranquility, which is not a word we use very often, but how about this wonderful synonym for it? Calm. That is what we're talking about today. A calmness that not only exists deep within you, but exists in such a way that this world cannot reach it to disturb it. Because peace or calmness is not just something that you are experiencing in the moment. It becomes your very identity. That is who you are, a person grounded in the peace that Christ provides. The word that is used throughout the New Testament for peace has a fascinating definition. Listen to this. Of Christianity, peace is 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 whatever sort that is. Let me tell you, that definition helps me a lot to try to figure out okay, what is calmness in the heart of a Christian and how do I know if I possess it? Number one, I am assured that I am saved in Jesus Christ. If I have ongoing questions or doubts about God's willingness to save me or the nature of my faith, there can be no peace. Because now I have to live in fear of the wrath of God. And in that there can be no peace. And because I find no calmness in the arms of God, everything else that happens in my life, it's just more waves hitting and rocking the boat. Every day I'm unclear of what new obstacle I will have to fear, what doubts will be raised within me. And it is not God's will for you to live that way. So as we get started, make sure you understand what we are seeking to attain. A tranquility and calmness within you, provided by the grace of God through the love of Jesus that is deep. It goes all the way down to the corners of your soul and fills you to the top. And it abides. This world cannot touch it. Yes, life will have its challenges and some days will be very painful and troublesome, but there is nothing that can remove from me this sense of being secured by God. It is deep and it is abiding and God has given it to us. So before we get into how to build that in a daily practical kind of way, can I just take a minute and talk about the exact opposite of this? I sincerely pray this is not so, but it might be that you today are on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. What is the opposite of deep abiding peace? It is deep abiding despair and anxiety and turmoil wrestling within you. If that is what you are feeling, I need to share with you two things. Number one, spend some time trying to identify what the source is for that. Is it because you have a strained relationship with God? Is it because there is sin hidden in your life and it's tearing you apart? Is it because the pain and struggles in your body are all you can think about? See if you can identify some source central to this despair so that you know what you can take before God and you know where to put your attention. But the second thing I would say is, would you please reach out to me? Someone, anyone, but I'll go first. My email address is EmersonK78 at me.com. Send me a message. If that's where you are, and this settled spirit feels impossible for you, please reach out for help. If you will send me a message, I will reach back out to you. Maybe we can pray together. Maybe I can help you get in contact with someone in your area who would sit and study with you, but it is not God's plan for your life. His plan retains a beauty, a purpose, and optimism regardless of external circumstances, the weather, your health, or the behavior of others. I hope that a few practical ideas today can give you a place to start. Maybe you're someone who knows what it feels like to fall into the arms of Jesus and trust him, but it's been a long time since you have felt that embrace. Today is a special day for you because his arms are open and he is a provider of peace. All right, before we get into those practical things, let me talk to you a few minutes about a substitute that is often put in the place of deep abiding peace. And it goes by a very simple word happiness. I like being happy. I like doing things that make me happy. And while I believe it is God's will at times and in certain places where I get that nice passing but valuable joy in my day, it is not something he has promised to be sustained in the life of all believers. Now, before you send me an email telling me how wrong I am about that, let me clarify. Jesus said that we are blessed. There is a joy that we take in life no matter what's happening around us. That's not what I'm talking about. That is more akin to deep abiding peace. I'm talking about a great cup of coffee in the morning. I'm talking about watching your son or grandson rip a double in the gap. I'm talking about eating at your favorite Mexican food restaurant. Or even more wonderful things, like a walk in the park with a person you love. Listen, those are great. They make us feel happiness. And to some extent, that's pretty deep. It doesn't always abide because life can change, because those relationships can change, because your ability to do those things can be altered. So we know instinctively that they may not always be there for us, but when that cup of coffee is there for me, I really enjoy it. It makes me happy. Now you might wonder, what's wrong with any of that? That all sounds magnificent. Well, there's nothing wrong with that, with any of it. And to the extent that you can, be sure and fill your life with happy, joyful moments with your kids or enjoying your favorite hobby or whatever. But here is the however, none of that, even the things that bring you the greatest physical sensation of joy imaginable, can ever replace deep, abiding peace and tranquility in Christ. Let me remind you of the definition, a tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation. So fearing nothing of God and content with your earthly lot, whatever it may be. You see, the thing about happiness is it tends to require certain physical things around you to be a certain way. And that's fine. And we should enjoy that. But it will not always be that way. And if I have been substituting, if I've been saying, look, I just don't have this deep sense of security in Jesus, but I have a pretty good life and I have a lot of fun and things go pretty well for me, then you are creating a situation where changes, sometimes fairly drastic changes, in this physical world and your temporary life can leave you feeling empty, lost, and in despair. Listen, enjoy all of those tangible physical moments and interactions so long as they honor the will of God, but never be dependent upon them for who you are. You are someone who has found your purpose in serving Jesus, which very well may require the abandoning or even forfeiting of things that make you happy because of the peace that surpasses anything this world can understand and goes beyond the boundaries of this world in salvation, in the hands of God, and in service to Jesus. It's also kind of interesting how happiness can change when deep abiding peace in Jesus is the daily goal, and it is really the all-encompassing purpose to live and move within that divine constraint, then what makes you happy tends to change. A cup of coffee is still good, but lending support to the person with whom you share your coffee is where the true joy comes. Okay, so how do we build that? I don't know where you are on this spectrum. You may be far away from peace. And again, try to ascertain some source for that, and please reach out and share it with someone that you trust. More than likely, though, you're like me, at least at times, somewhere right there in the middle, not burdened by absolute despair, but subject, far too subject to the things that are happening around you and allowing them to change who you are in that moment. When all you and I should ever be are reflections of the light of the sun in our lives so that others can know the peace that surpasses understanding. So I'm not going to give you a long list. I'm really just going to give you one thing and then a little special project if you want to organize it. Please listen to this carefully. If you are interested in peace, calmness, and tranquility in Christ, then you need to be spending a peaceful, quiet, tranquil, and calm time with Jesus. This is something really cool that God has done for us. He has asked us to have in our hearts something that the world cannot see, something that defies the limits of the natural world, something that goes beyond even our own comprehension. And yet we can build it, we can access it, we can wrap our lives in it through very real, physical, tangible things. But in that way, you have to make a determination. You have to decide that in every day of life where I hope that deep within my soul is a relationship with Jesus, I will set aside time on that day to develop, focus upon, and express gratitude for my relationship with Jesus. There are some easy ways to do this. You know that I talk a lot about the Excel Still More Journal, which I've been using for 835 straight days. You don't have to order one of those, but I'll tell you what they allow me to do. Sit down every day and read one chapter from the Word of God and write down some things that I've learned. I'm convinced every Christian who wants the favor of Christ in their soul will commit to reading the Word every day. There are three sections where I write prayers. One, I'm allowed to ask God pretty much whatever's on my heart. One, I express gratitude to God for one thing that He's put in my life. And in one of the prayers, I affirm who I am and how I will live today because of Him. Honestly, I cannot imagine a day of my life without doing this. I don't make it very far without resetting my heart on my king. Maybe it's a super rough day. Everything goes wrong. Very few things bring happiness. But it started with a recognition of God working in my life with gratitude and by seeing his words on the page that are to be written on my heart. And maybe I just barely make it to bed that night and fall asleep. But guess what I'll be doing tomorrow morning? Reviving the mercies of the Lord as the sun rises. A friend of mine, Benjamin Lee, calls it tag, time alone with God, and he's exactly right. Maybe you are thinking through your schedule right now, going, Where am I going to find 30 minutes like that during the day? I'm here to tell you you can't afford not to. You cannot afford to try and keep Jesus deep within your heart if he is not fresh on your mind. We've got some cool things that can help. If you are Facebook active, join our group, Excel Stillmore, a chapter a day. We read a chapter of the word every day, make a few comments if you'd like, and it's really helped with accountability. You can order a journal if you'd like at excelstillmore. Though if you will just email me and request it, I'll send you the digital copy for free, and you can do what you'd like with it. But I know this, you need to capture some moments that are purely God centric. Even Jesus did that in his life on the earth. Okay, one final cool thing that might help you. At creationtoration.com, you can order something new called 30 Days of Peace. It is a collection of 30 cards. I'm holding them in my hand right now. And each day you read one and just do what it says. Because each and every entry is oriented to helping you establish greater peace in your walk with God and even in your relationships. I've gone about five days deep into these, so let me read you mine. Day one was easy, spend 30 minutes in prayer alone in a quiet place. Day two was eat that frog, which I seem to remember hearing from somewhere. And then there was just a great variety of things. One day it said slow down, take a walk in the woods or in the park. One day it said to think the best of everyone you come in contact with today. Then the next one said, It is likely you will encounter an irritating person today. Be patient with them. I remember reading that one thinking, where was that on Tuesday? The most recent one simply said listen to peaceful spiritual songs. Anyway, I've really enjoyed those nice surprises each day on things to do. But whether you get these cards or start journaling, just be very intentional about time alone with God. Remember, he will be deep within your heart only when he is fresh on your mind. So go out and live today in a way that is not darkened by what happens around you, but actually draws people to the light of Jesus. Show them the transforming power of deep abiding peace. Thank you so much for joining in today. If you enjoyed this program, consider sharing it with your family and your friends. And if you're just in search of deeper Bible study or you want to share the message of Jesus with the children in your life, remember to go to creation2revelation.com. This wonderful company, run by Christians, provides beautiful illustrations of scripture from beginning to end, putting the spotlight on Jesus. And remember this whatever you choose to do today in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, excel still more.