Peace that surpasses understanding…
A few nights ago, my family experienced something together that I never thought we would experience with one another. Iran fired hundreds (I know what the news is saying) of ballistic missiles at Israel, where we now live for as long as the Lord desires us to.
Earlier in the day, there was enough information gathered by different countries, agencies, and militaries to make a fair assumption that it was coming. So my family prepared, talked, prayed, and trusted that the Lord would not call us here just to experience this moment and leave. So, we knew in our heart, this may not be the last, and we are here to be the difference, so what is different about us? We have peace that happens in the midst of every circumstance. We saw that peace overwhelm every question that Izzy wanted to ask as we were hanging out in our safe room. I literally got to watch the Holy Spirit comfort my daughter beyond what I could with any explanation of the events happening, the Sovereignty of God over all things, and the importance of us being where we are called. She met the Prince of Peace, and she allowed it to be that simple.
I talk about the fruit of the Spirit Peace a lot in my line of ministry. It never seems to fail that once you have peace, you gain a new dynamic circumstance to test your peace. So once a member of a family grabs holds of the freedom that is in Jesus, experiences His love and holiness like never before. The spouse that was holding everything together prior to their revelation typically becomes the test of their new peace. There is an immediate possibility for bitterness, resentment, and need for control that becomes the first opportunity for us to hold onto freedom and realize peace that surpasses understanding does not happen by never having another conflict, that would be easy to understand because that is normal peace. We know (my wife and I) that what we most talk about and walk others through is the season of growth that we will soon find ourselves in. There is a saying I heard somewhere “if you are going to preach about it, you better be about it.” So, I have learned to be intentional about keeping track of what comes out of my mouth so I will not be caught off guard by what I am going to be learning. and Spoiler, I have talked a lot about peace in the last couple of months. There was a new level of Peace that I experienced watching my wife and daughters go through a conflict that I had no control over, no way to really protect them, and because I am a Truth speaker no words of complete comfort that we were going to be ok. All I could really tell them is that Jesus is in control. I needed Him to comfort my daughter like I could not, I needed Him to protect my family like I could not, and I needed Him to do it in a way that they knew Peace in the midst of this conflict. He did all those things and more that night for my family. There is no doubt in my mind that we are where we are supposed to be, doing what we are supposed to be doing. There was no trauma, no fear, and no doubt in that room that night. And there is a difference in Izzy, that I am looking forward to watching unfold.
We are so thankful for your prayers, all your messages checking on us, and the Love that we feel from you all. We pray that you receive ten fold what you have poured into our family over the last few weeks. We would not be able to stay without your prayers, that is the truth.
We leave on Monday to go to Sicily for three weeks to work with some families there. So please pray that we are out of the way so that they may hear from the Lord through us. That we would all be equipped with ears and hearts to receive what the Lord has for us all. Izzy will also celebrate her 9th birthday while we are there, which she is very excited about. We will post pics and keep you all updated.
BE BLESSED
“True victory is not in the resolution of your circumstances but, in becoming like Jesus”
-Graham Cooke
