Finding Peace and Understanding in Difficult Days

"For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

People everywhere are increasingly desperate to know what tomorrow will bring, frantic to prepare for the future. Global changes are coming rapidly—and no sooner than we've adjusted to these changes, new realities explode into our world.

Will you have confidence or entertain chaos during these turbulent times? Will you fear what tomorrow may bring, or rest secure in your Father's loving care? Just how worried are you about your financial security, your health, your family, your community and nation? How peaceful are you as you lay your head on the pillow at night? Do you choose to trust in The Lord, or do you entertain doubt and unbelief?

The choice is up to you. The Lord gives us the responsibility to exercise our free will—to believe, to trust and to rejoice. What will we choose—death or life? Blessings or curses?

The answer is given to us by God Himself: He specifically exhorts us to choose to be blessed, which requires us to "choose life":

"I call Heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live." - Deuteronomy 30:19

"In order to discover hope and abide securely, we must embrace this truth: only as we turn our focus upon Christ the King, Life Himself, do we obtain true peace and security." - Isaiah 26:3

He said He came to give us life more abundantly:

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." - John 10:10

GOD PROMISES TO GUIDE US AND SHOW US THINGS TO COME!

Satan comes to kill our bodies, steal our goods and destroy our relationships. These three areas are a cycle he uses to try and intimidate us and take our joy and our peace.

It was the same tactic the devil used on Job. First he took his goods and family, then he attacked his body and finally his relationships. What we forget is that Job lived 140 years and his trouble lasted only nine months. In the end he got double for his trouble.

To be sure, many believers are not experiencing this life more abundantly. Do we sincerely trust the Holy Spirit's constant help and guidance?

As followers of Christ, we have the very Spirit of God within us. We have full access to His divine wisdom—exceedingly far beyond anything else on earth! This is Good News!

"But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message (on His own authority); but He will tell whatever He hears (from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him), and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come (that will happen in the future)." - John 16:13 (Amplified Bible)

God's promise here is two-fold: the Spirit of Truth will, without fail, guide us AND show us things to come.

This Greek word translated "show" is an extraordinary word that brings tremendous comfort and wisdom. The Greek anaggello is comprised of two parts, "ana", that means into the midst, in the midst, amidst, among, between, and the base of "aggelos", which means a messenger, an angel, one sent from God. What does this mean? God will "show" us or anaggello us things to come—He will send us a messenger from eternity, an eternity that contains the future, to announce, make known, report back and bring tidings to us about tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year! This guarantee of future revelation is His Word to you, a promise which cannot fail.

Do you grasp the significance of this marvelous guarantee? The Lord Himself, before He suffered on the cross, said it was to our advantage for Him to leave—so He could send this Helper to us, the Spirit of Truth:

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you." - John 16:7

This Helper will guide us not only into truth, but "into all truth" revealing the full picture, the complete understanding of any situation we face, to the degree that He desires. God's people have tremendous power to understand "things to come". Meditate on this truth until you are fully persuaded that the Creator of the universe will indeed show you things to come and lead you into all truth!

As a follower of Christ, we are not called to wonder about the future or to speculate, guess or even reason about potential events—but rather to see, know and understand the future through divine revelation for the glory of God and for His purposes. This understanding of things to come is not reserved for the prophets of the Church alone, but for the blood-bought believer who walks closely with the Holy Spirit, in holy reverence of the King; He reveals His secrets to His friends. Knowing things to come is the result of intimacy with God and thus having the mind of Christ, which is promised to believers in 1 Corinthians 2:16: "For 'who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?' But we have the mind of Christ."

We must Learn to live every day in light of revelatory understanding. Receiving knowledge of the future is not for our own glory or purposes, but He gives prophetic insight to us to manifest His glory on earth, to pray His will on earth. In fact, each of us is called to manifest Heaven on earth through prayer and through the knowledge of His Word. This is the heart of "The Lord's Prayer" that we all have memorized: "On earth as it is in Heaven." Have we realized the tremendous power of this prayer?

We are the connector between heaven and earth. We are the salt and light of the earth. Let your heart and mind be filled with supernatural peace and walk in the light of His supernatural revelation. Expect the Messenger from eternity to speak to you about His plans for the future. Be the bright and shining light in the dark days.

"Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. When people are saying, 'Everything is peaceful and secure,' then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing."

- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

In the Father's love,

David