Last weekend a friend of mine posted a beautiful entry on his blog. In the post he briefly describes his often tumultuous journey to discover God during his nearly 35 year trek on this planet, and how he recently came to a new understanding--experience-- of who God really is. To God he writes...
"Something changed inside me a few days ago when I realized not only that you were there, but I understood for the first time what it feels like to know that I am loved unconditionally. To recognize that you not only love, but that you are love was a powerful discovery. I can feel a wave of peace flow through me just by thinking about it. Peace that comes from knowing I don’t have to question your existence anymore. Peace that comes from knowing you’ll always be there when I need you."
There was one line in his post that I can't get out of my head. He mentioned "peace that comes from knowing". Yes! I love that. The Bible tells us that the peace God offers is not like the peace the world offers; that His peace is beyond our understanding.
We can experience it, although we cannot explain it. When you encounter this God... when you know he is real... when you know his peace... everything changes.
It can't be explained, doesn't need to be defended or debated... you just know that you know that he's real. And there is a peace that comes from knowing. Things settle down. The internal wrestling match subsides. Peace.
I love the scene in the movie Forest Gump where Captain Dan, furious with God for the loss of both legs during the Vietnam war, is riding out a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico strapped atop the mast of a shrimp boat, cursing God and flipping Him off while being pummeled and stung by 120 mph winds and salt-water.
In the next scene the skies are clear and blue, the sea is smooth as glass, and Captain Dan is going for a swim. Peace. The struggle is over. The internal war resolved. I know many Christians who were offended by that scene. I love it. Been there... on both sides of that war.
There is a peace that comes from knowing God. It guards my heart and mind--my emotions and my thoughts. Resting in the experiential knowledge of who He is... there is life there. And joy. And peace.
"Something changed inside me a few days ago when I realized not only that you were there, but I understood for the first time what it feels like to know that I am loved unconditionally. To recognize that you not only love, but that you are love was a powerful discovery. I can feel a wave of peace flow through me just by thinking about it. Peace that comes from knowing I don’t have to question your existence anymore. Peace that comes from knowing you’ll always be there when I need you."
There was one line in his post that I can't get out of my head. He mentioned "peace that comes from knowing". Yes! I love that. The Bible tells us that the peace God offers is not like the peace the world offers; that His peace is beyond our understanding.
We can experience it, although we cannot explain it. When you encounter this God... when you know he is real... when you know his peace... everything changes.
It can't be explained, doesn't need to be defended or debated... you just know that you know that he's real. And there is a peace that comes from knowing. Things settle down. The internal wrestling match subsides. Peace.
I love the scene in the movie Forest Gump where Captain Dan, furious with God for the loss of both legs during the Vietnam war, is riding out a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico strapped atop the mast of a shrimp boat, cursing God and flipping Him off while being pummeled and stung by 120 mph winds and salt-water.
In the next scene the skies are clear and blue, the sea is smooth as glass, and Captain Dan is going for a swim. Peace. The struggle is over. The internal war resolved. I know many Christians who were offended by that scene. I love it. Been there... on both sides of that war.
There is a peace that comes from knowing God. It guards my heart and mind--my emotions and my thoughts. Resting in the experiential knowledge of who He is... there is life there. And joy. And peace.
1 comment:
Thanks for the nice compliment and the link. I love that you not only got what I was trying to say in my original post, but that you were able to expound on it in a meaningful and wonderful way.
I'm digging your blog makeover, by the way! :)
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