Grab Ahold
Calendars, appointments, chores, tasks, to do lists, assignments, etc. Grocery shopping, cleaning house, cooking dinner, washing clothes, folding clothes, putting up the clothes! If you are human, you have a “something” that must be done at some point in time. Your schedule might look different from mine but we all have something to do.
Some months my schedule is full of events and things. Then there are others where I have more, shall we say ‘down time’. Every now and then, I find myself not having as many things to do. What are the odds of having absolutely nothing pending and nothing scribbled down as a maybe? What are the chances you have completed your chores, errands, cooked your meals and are sitting comfortably? Life might not ever get to that place but what I have come to learn, or I am trying to learn, is that you have to be okay with not being okay. It is totally okay to have things waiting for you. Now that clearly is not ideal but it is okay. I have been quick to say, “It is so much harder for me to sit down and relax when I am bombarded by the thoughts of everything I haven’t done.”
Have you ever had a ‘MEH’ DAY? A day where you just don’t want to? A day where you don’t have it in you? A day where you would rather not? A day where “I hear your question but have no answers” is the absolute best you can do.
John 14:27 says “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
If you are on social media, you quite often see hashtags. Some might say #MarriageGoals, #VacationGoals or #FinancialGoals. What about our peace? Can we get to a place where we have #PeaceGoals? A place where we can truly see God in the midst of our storm and are able to grab ahold of His peace. Can we get to a place where our bad days are not bumped up to the worst days and we can see Him standing next to us? How about the days when you have more bills than money and more projects than time, can we grab ahold to the peace of God on those days?
You see it is easy to be “at peace” when all is well. It is quite simple to take a deep breath when everything is going according to plan. I want to get to a place where the wild cards do not throw me completely off track. I am on this new journey and I am being more aware of what I hand over to God. I am physically going through the motion of handing something to Him. My actions are not for God but for me. My actions snap me out of the circumstance or misguided thought process and allow me to redirect. I am literally handing that thing that whatever it is to God and in return, I am receiving His peace. The consistency of giving it over to God is only beneficial when you really give it over to God. Once you give it to God then what? Then that is when you hold on tight to what has already been set aside for us.
In Galatians 5:22-23 it states Peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit. “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law”.
Now this is not an immediate reception of gift but over time as you and I continue to walk out our Christian journey we will have an easier time accepting and stepping into it. My prayer is not that my peace comes and goes with the wind, but that it is anchored into such a strong foundation that it weathers the storms of life. That it is not mislead and lured away due to tragic events or life’s surprises. I pray the Peace of God covers my family and friends their friends and so on. At the same time, I pray that, we do not become lazy in our faith walk because that can and will jeopardize our peace. When we are not consistently entering into the presence of God that affects our peace. It is very hard to grab ahold of something when you are not securely connected to the source. God is our source.
James 4:8” Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded”.
The word tells us to draw nigh or draw near unto God and in return, He will do the same. When I read that scripture I visualize two boats and the connection between the two is a huge rope. When you pull on the rope, the distance between the boats continues to get smaller as long as someone is pulling and doing the work. Put in the work to draw near unto God, to receive the fruit of the Spirit and grab ahold of what God left to us, Peace. Peace that surpasses all understanding, peace that covers the doctors reports, peace that covers the financial reports, peace that covers our children in school, peace that covers our loved ones traveling, peace that covers us on our jobs, the peace that sits with us in job interviews. Grab ahold of the God of peace. In addition, if you are struggling with finding peace, get in the presence of God and dare to stand. Have the mindset that Jacob had in Genesis 32:26 when he said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me”. When we become desperate for something, we are a bit more reluctant to walk away or let go.
Rochelle is a native to Las Vegas, Nevada and has been married to her high school sweetheart, Bryan for 20 years. They have three children Daviontae-21, Jordan-19 and Saria-4 years old.
Rochelle’s passion for writing started as a young girl when she used journaling as a way to voice her emotions. Over the years, God has taken something that was solely therapeutic, gave it a voice and is now using it to encourage and uplift women and people from state to state.
Rochelle has worked in healthcare for over 15 years. In her “free” time, she enjoys writing, cooking/baking, creating new recipes and spending time with her family. Having a strong inner circle as well as nurturing the lives of others is very important to her. Rochelle has a passion for encouraging women and helping them to see the value in knowing their self-worth.