Today's Devotional Thought
May 27, 2013 by Rachel Piferi
Peace in the Midst of Misunderstanding
Friday evening I sat in the corner of my bedroom with tears brimming in my eyes as I begged the Lord for understanding. I was wrestling with him over something that I was struggling with and I was so frustrated because I just wanted to understand it. I thought if I could just understand it, I could deal with it. And in my frustration, I cried and cried and cried.
Lord, I just want to understand.
I begged him for perspective. I begged him for insight. I begged him for a peace that I thought would come from understanding it.
And as he always does, he gently and quietly whispered to me. And in his whisper, he said to me, Sweet child, I won't give you peace through your understanding of this situation, I am here to give you a peace that surpasses your own understanding...a peace that comes even without understanding.../
I have tears even now as I write this to you because I will be honest, my flesh fights this concept so hard. My flesh likes to understand. My flesh spent her career as researcher and college professor. My job was to understand, explain, predict, and control. With everything in my human body, I want to understand things.
And my flesh battles the concept of not understanding.
But even while my flesh is fighting it, I can feel God's Spirit rising within me and fighting back.
Fighting gloriously back.
In the heat of any moment of lack of understanding, my flesh is usually raging. My lack of understanding can often lead to misunderstanding and that can lead to hurt, sadness, among a host of other negative emotions. But, if I can center myself and focus on Jesus, His Spirit begins to rise in me. And His Spirit begins to win. And if I choose in that moment of frustration and fleshly desire to understand to align myself with God's Spirit, I actually get that peace that comes from him.
Not a peace that comes from my own understanding.
But a peace that surpasses my own understanding.
And can I tell you, it is more glorious than any peace that comes from my working things out.
Friends, if you are like me and you have this need to understand things, then may I suggest that you commit today to fight that urge within yourself and truly choose to align yourself with the Spirit of God that is within you. Choose to accept his direction and his way of responding and consequently his peace that comes from obedience. Even without your understanding.
Let me leave you with a few verses that I recite in those moments that I am aligning myself with God's Spirit within me and fighting off my flesh's desire to understand. May they help you too as you walk towards that peace that surpasses understanding.
Isaiah 43:8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
December