When I was 15 I became a Christian. I was part of a very charismatic church. A lot of times you would hear "give your life to god and he will fix everything." Now, those weren't the exact words but that is the gist of the message I was hearing back then coming from many pulpits, not just mine. So, at 17 I found myself highly discouraged. I was volunteering and spending every hour in THE CHURCH I could, not just mine. I loved God and believed HE was there but I was left to grapple with the very real reality that my life had not gotten "fixed". God left me physically and environmentally in the same place He found me. Finally one night, when some friends went to drop me off at home, I lost it. I couldn't get out of the car. I was emotionally shipwrecked. If this loving god was really there then why was i still living in a house where fighting happened all around me and objects would shatter on the wall behind me. Why hadn't God brought the peace we were promised? Why was I always having to find places to stay and hide when my stepdad was mad- which was more often than not. My friends were at a loss so they simply loved in me prayed for me and stayed with me until I finally brought myself to get out of the car. That night in my room I cried out to God in prayer and to my surprise something in my gut said "read Micah". I thought for certain I must be losing my mind. I knew Micah was a kid in my algebra class but not a book in the bible.... After the third time
I heard this voice inside my heart I decided to open my bible and see if it was a book. To my surprise the pages opened right to Micah. I read and read and thought... Really???? Lol... This is a bunch of doom and gloom and then I found chapter 5 and things turned around. I had an aha moment with Jesus as the words HE WILL BE THERE PEACE joes off the pages at me and I realized God had kept his promise. The catch was HE was to be my peace, is to be our peace. Out peace as believers is not to be contingent upon the circumstances sound us being turned around... It is to be found in Christ alone. IF and WHEN we grab this truth and are able to walk in this beautiful Hope , joy, and peace that has already been given to us through Christ on the cross , THEN no matter what comes your way you will have peace. THIS is why our peace is a peace that passes understanding.
I would be lying to say I don't still struggle today and suffer repercussions of things that were out of my control but just the thought of this peace and still having CHRIST in the middle of all life's trials has kept me hanging on.
I pray this brings someone the peace they have been so desperately seeking if they take the time to read it.
I heard this voice inside my heart I decided to open my bible and see if it was a book. To my surprise the pages opened right to Micah. I read and read and thought... Really???? Lol... This is a bunch of doom and gloom and then I found chapter 5 and things turned around. I had an aha moment with Jesus as the words HE WILL BE THERE PEACE joes off the pages at me and I realized God had kept his promise. The catch was HE was to be my peace, is to be our peace. Out peace as believers is not to be contingent upon the circumstances sound us being turned around... It is to be found in Christ alone. IF and WHEN we grab this truth and are able to walk in this beautiful Hope , joy, and peace that has already been given to us through Christ on the cross , THEN no matter what comes your way you will have peace. THIS is why our peace is a peace that passes understanding.
I would be lying to say I don't still struggle today and suffer repercussions of things that were out of my control but just the thought of this peace and still having CHRIST in the middle of all life's trials has kept me hanging on.
I pray this brings someone the peace they have been so desperately seeking if they take the time to read it.