Got Peace?

Recently, Gina said to me, "I'll be out on the back porch if you are looking for me."  That phrase, 'back porch' is peace to me.  You see, some of our greatest joy and times of peace have taken place on our back porch in the cool of the morning just as the sun is coming up.  We share times of conversation and laughter on the back porch as the sky begins to glow.  But those times always come to an end as the day calls out its tasks and responsibilities and we both begin getting ready for the day. Is this the end of our peace for the day? Of course not!  Although the day may hold many stresses and complexities and trouble, none of these things dictate the disposition of our peace.  So how can peace be consistent?

The joy of the Lord is the hinge pin of consistent peace (Philippians 4:4-9).  All other disciplines follow after our joy in the Lord or to put it another way, our confidence in the Lord.  Without knowing he indwells and fills we will not be gracious. Without knowing he hears us we will not pray. Without knowing our hope in Christ we will not consider our hope in eternity.  Without the joy of the Lord, no other Christian discipline functions at its intended capacity.

But how can we have joy in the midst of a hostile chaotic world? 

“Christian joy is a mood independent of our immediate circumstances.  If it were dependent on our surroundings, then, indeed, it would be as uncertain as an unprotected candle burning on a gusty night.” – J. H. Jowett, Day by Day. 

This life changes but the Lord does not change. There are times and seasons in life that arrange themselves like a sunny spring day and others like the gloom of winter, cold and dreary.  One day I stand in the presence of new love at a wedding, the next over an open grave.  In a single hour I can hear the celebration of new parents over the birth of a child and the despair of a man who sees no reason to continue living.  In the same moment I can feel both like a champion and a chump.  The days we live change like the weather, but our joy can remain. What’s the secret?  “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." (De. 31:6).  “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (Josh. 1:5).  “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:31).

God is not a fair-weather Companion leaving us when the days grow dark and lonely.  He is with us always in the days of life, the day of death, the day of judgment.

Anger: Satan's Playground

Anger has always been a part of my life.  I was an angry child.  I was an angry teen.  I was an angry adult.  I still wrestle with anger.  At times it gets the best of me.  But there are victories in life and  one of the victories I see as Christ’s nature continues to become my own is victory over anger.  He continues to overtake me and wash over me which causes my anger to be like a wave crashing into the shore only to dissipate into foam.

Paul wrote a very practical thought and activity of Christian living when he penned, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”  The verse tells us a few things about anger.

There is a time to be angry. Anger is not a primary emotion. It is driven by other things.  Knowing what drives anger is certainly advantageous to us.  Anger in general is deceptive.  But identifying the source of anger enables us to discover a solution.  Four things that drive anger are: Hurt, Injustice, Fear and Frustration.

 If we consider our times of anger carefully, we will discover that most of our anger is driven by these four situations.  Although knowing the source of anger helps considerably in resolving an issue, there is a question we need to ask ourselves when we feel anger: “How does this affect the character and honor of God?”  James 1:19-20 says, “Know this, my beloved brethren: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Anger that is just about us individually will lead to destruction since it cannot achieve the righteousness of God. But anger that exists because it affects the honor and character of God leads to His glory.  Your anger is not right if it is just about you.

 There is a way to be angry. One Sabbath day Jesus was in the synagogue and discovered a man with a withered hand.  He asked the people if it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath and when no one responded he, “looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.”  The way to be angry is to mingle grief with it.  We often get angry over sin, as well we should, but is that anger aimed at the person?   Often we want to crack their skull and pour in a little wisdom.  But the response of Jesus is helpful.  His anger was driven by grief because of their hardness of heart.  Grief is a love word.  When you lose something or someone that you love you grieve.  This love should drive us to pray for the person who has angered us rather than let their sin drive us to rage or bitterness.

The time of anger should be short.  John Piper writes, “Anger, for all its possible legitimacy, is a dangerous emotion and should not be nurtured into a grudge. Anger is the moral equivalent of biological adrenaline. It is good and healthy to experience periodic secretions of adrenaline in reaction to dangerous situations. But a steady flow would damage the heart. So with anger. It has damaged many hearts because it was not put away, but nurtured again and again into a life-destroying grudge.”

 So be angry when the honor and character of God are at stake.  Be angry but add grief to it in order to temper the anger from becoming rage or bitterness.  Be angry but not for long. Otherwise, your emotions will become the playground of the Devil.