Maneuvers - No. 26
I Am
Your Peace
Anxiety. Pressure. Shame. Impatience. Fatigue.
This is how the world operates, friend. It keeps us trapped in cycles of rush and panic and regret—the things that make us feel so far away from Jesus.
But Jesus isn’t upset with us when we get caught in those cycles.
He’s patient with us. And when we fall for the thousandth time? He tirelessly picks us back up, never accusing us or holding what we should’ve done over our heads, but inviting us to come back into his presence. Because that’s where joy and peace are. And that’s what he wants to give us.
Do you want joy and peace?
Do you want to trade your cycles of rush and regret for limitless intimacy with our heavenly Father?
Yes, we do, too.
The only place we can make that sacred trade is in the presence of God. And his presence isn’t something far away or off limits. It’s here. Available. Open. Ready.
It’s for you. For all of us who belong to him.
So let’s enter his presence, listening to Holy Spirit’s words with humble, open hearts that are ready for the more he has to offer.
Are you ready? Good. Let’s lean in today and listen…
01.
The Message
“You ask me what concerns me, how I hold the world. You look up and out and think about my capacity to hold all things, be in all things, be measured by all things.
“No, I cannot be measured by what you see and hear. I cannot be measured by your emotions. I cannot be measured by your physical senses. And isn’t that comforting to you? That I am more than the panic and rush of this world? That I am everything good? That I never tire? That my perspective is not your perspective? That my attitude is never affected by fatigue, impatience, regret, pride, judgment, condemnation, or remorse?
“I am always confident. I am always present. I am always with you and in all things filled with love. I am love. I love you. I love this world and all the people in it.
“How often do you think about that? How my gaze is upon you and upon everything and everyone else too? How I am your father and mother and protector and that the peace I have is for you to keep?
“Are you wearing it now, this gift of my Son—peace?
“Let all your troubles be given to me now. Release them. Why do you hold on to your troubles with such a tight grip? Let go of all anxiety. I know what this means for you, how letting go of anxiety is challenging. You are addicted, you see, to holding onto worry. You are addicted to worrying about what concerns you. You are addicted to a focus on yourself.
“Let all the good you do be given back to me. Let it be a gift to me. Let it be what brings me glory. Let all the bad you do be given back to me too. Let it be your open heart—not a closed one—that wants to turn to me when you do things you wish you hadn’t, things you now regret.
“The world wants to crowd me out. Keep you busy. You know I am always here, you think—and I love you—and I’ve made you—so I will be understanding and patient when you choose to live a life separate from me, on your own, totally on your own. But be careful. Watch how you inch away from me, bit by bit, from new habits you create, each day at a time, each moment at a time, when you don’t slow, don’t turn your gaze to meet mine.
“I offer you, right now, a kingdom of abundance—a kingdom of love and life and peace. Right now. Right now. If you don’t feel those truths now—if that is not your reality—then it is time to recognize how you are addicted to the world and love it, with your whole heart, and not me. Not me. Not me.”
02.
Listen
What word stands out to you the most in today’s message? How is that word resonating in you? What is it revealing to you about God’s character? Let’s write down our response in our journals.
03.
Think
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NIV).
1. What has been making it hard for you to rest in God’s presence? What worries, regrets, and fears have been blocking your peace?
2. How did today’s message impact your view of those fears and worries? How is Jesus changing your perspective?
3. Find 3 Scriptures about God’s peace. What is Holy Spirit revealing to you through those passages? Let’s write down what he shows us.
04.
Trust
It’s easy to fall for a false idea of what peace is.
Because of the worldly messages we hear daily, we can think that peace is the absence of problems. It’s easy to slip into the mindset that true peace is when our relationships, work, finances, and health are all going well. Zero problems, zero worry… right?
But does that concept line up with what Jesus tells us? If you look back at this week’s verse (John 16:33), you see that Jesus doesn’t say we might encounter problems in this world. He says we will.
And yet we can still have peace... How?
With Jesus.
Ephesians 2:14 says, “For he himself [Jesus] is our peace” (NIV, emphasis added).
When the disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee, terrified by the storm around them, there was one person who brought them peace—Jesus. What did Jesus do to calm the storm? He spoke. That’s it. His words brought peace. He was their peace.
Think back to the problems, worries, and fears you listed for Question 1. How does Jesus want to be your peace through those things? What words does he want to say to you that will give you an unmovable calm? What is he saying to you now?
Take a moment, just you and Jesus. Rest in his presence. Breathe in… out… and in again… and out again. You’re safe here. Loved here. Accepted here. Seen here.
As Holy Spirit is pouring into you, take the time you need to receive it. Don’t rush it. And when you’re ready to respond… let’s pray.
05.
Pray
Jesus, you are my peace, the peace that goes beyond any human understanding, no matter how much we try to study it. You give me a peace that I can’t explain. But I feel it. I experience it. Because I feel and experience you.
I’m so easily distracted and overwhelmed by all the problems I face. You know that, and still you don’t judge me. Thank you. When I’m in the thick of those problems and all I can think about is how to solve them, help me see you.
I love you, Jesus. Draw me closer to you. Teach me how to have your peace no matter what I’m facing or feeling. Speak to me. Speak over me the words that bring peace. I’m listening for your voice. I love you so much.
In your name I pray, amen.
Waving the banner with you,
