Greetings guys! Long time no speak/journal... I hope you all are keeping well within the quarantine season; I can't believe that it is still here! In London, they've lifted the lockdown and people are flying out, physically back to work, everyone is trying their best to stay as safe as possible but for me personally, it doesn't seem so real! Hopefully, the safest and most realistic adjustment to the new normal will encourage anew found joy and peace within a world full of sadness, destruction and trouble.
So this post is essentially going to be discussing a topic that I find to be quite repetitive on my blog, and that is peace. I find it amusing how I feel incredibly inspired and lead to journaling, take note, breathe in and explore what the word of God talks about regarding peace. Jesus is the Prince of peace and I find the one thing people have trouble with in this troubled world (me included) is not only attaining peace but keeping it. Sometimes I feel like peace is similar to a relationship, just because you worked hard and flexed to the person into exclusively 'dating/courting' you, doesn't mean you stop there and it will be fruitful and multiply. Peace is an exercise that we as children of God need to continuously seek the Holy Spirit for with wisdom and humility.
Early one morning (literally around 4 am), I was up just thinking about how I’ve allowed the quarantine to get the best of my thoughts due to redundancy, searching endlessly for jobs and receiving no response or minimal and constructive feedback. Like when I spend on average 7 hours a day looking for work, cover letter after personal statement - it gets a little frustrating.
I also started to feel sad about things God has blessed me in the lockdown phase that honestly, I didn’t want (yet)/ was fine not having because as far as I was concerned, stacking my 💵 and keeping myself to myself was the 2020 goal. I would say that two that have popped up within social distancing season came by ultimate surprise and I was not prepared for any this year - but those that love the Lord (myself included) know that God's timing is perfect and I feel like I have a relationship with God where I make plans for myself and He would be low-key laughing at them and do His will; to my shock, I'm left bamboozled and figure out how to enjoy His way with full trust (comment if you are a fellow Olivia-Zara lool).
Honestly, over this lockdown season, a depressive state took residency slowing kicking out my peace - mentally, spiritually & emotionally. Those that I could communicate to, I personally didn't feel like I was understood fully in addition to my counsellor having a break so I couldn't spend allocated time in assisting my thought process aside from friends and the BIG ONE - holding conversations with myself that consisted of self-blame, worthlessness, 'I must have bad karma' and comparison creeping up. PLEASE IF YOU FIND YOURSELF DOING SO, STOP! Mine was sooo bad, I didn't even consult God, It was if I would be speaking to myself whilst walking into a meeting room, yet not enter the meeting room because I already had it in my head.
I really wanted to get out of it, but just couldn't- however, reading through Colossians 3:15 made me question what does peace look like for me in a quarantine/COVID world as a believer. It really shouted at me lol, I had to sit up and think.
1)Thanksgiving (for life).
2)Calling (personal and as a body)
3)Fellowship (personal church and collective virtually)
4)Fruits of righteousness with inclusion.
There are many more, but what is so cool about these four points, in particular, negates the concept of gratitude in correlation to what God has done for others surrounding you, i.e - you shouldn't be grateful only to god for life because you’ve witnessed the life of another person come to an end, the gratitude of life is a must daily from the moment we open our eyes even before we look to our Bible or Instagram/Facebook. With the Logo bible reference (my beautiful sister in Christ shared with me the awesomeness of that App - go check it out!) and I was fond of a few cross-reference verses :
John 14:27 NIV- Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
1 Corinthians 7:15 NIV- But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.
Ephesians 2:16 NIV - ... and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
Philippians 4:7 NIV- And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:17 NIV- And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
These other verses beautifully back up the peace of God as a necessary of life, in line with the word ‘rule’ translated in Greek as ‘umpire’ - when you think of tennis the umpire is placed in the middle and up high compared to the players. The part of the verse ‘in our hearts’ is sooo important as newborn believers because it’s easier to wear and speak peace whilst war is in our hearts/thinking. Our thanksgiving is to be within our calling that surrounds the peace of God ruling in our hearts personally and as a body, so may we have eyes to see and ears to hear the view & intentions of what God has called us to His peace. So we’ve reached the end of my post with a summertime conclusion to the essential that is peace, just like was written in this post, it is our right as children of God and as humans, the things of life can deter our thoughts on whether we deserve it or not. Jesus paid the price beloved, with faith and total trust; exercising the state of peace will birth anew formed gratitude and refresh the understanding of Paul’s letter to the church of Colossae outlining the old self and the new self.
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