The Ebb & Flow of Peace

Peter, suddenly bold, said,
“Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come ahead.”
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus.
But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet,
he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand.
MATTHEW 14:24-31   (THE MESSAGE)

The story of Jesus walking on the stormy waters of the Sea of Galilee and calling Peter toward Him is one of Jesus’ best-known miracles.  It is a powerful image and it represents so vividly the choice we have when we face the storms of life.

I’ve spent my fair share of time sinking beneath the storms of life.  At one time I thought it was impossible to have peace in the midst of a storm.  But like Peter, I’ve learned that I don’t have to succumb to the storms of life.  I have learned that I can be at peace even in the midst of the most terrible storm.  I can be at peace because I can safely place my hope in Jesus my savior, who is greater than any storm and He is faithful.

But I am no spiritual giant – my peace ebbs and flows.  Just because I can choose to focus on Jesus does not mean I always make that choice initially.  To be honest, I hate surprises.  I like to be prepared.  So when a storm hits and I am blindsided – it initially throws me for a loop.  When the shock wave hits me – I worry – I am afraid – I get angry – then I feel guilty.  I experience a whole list of peace busters.  But I have learned that I don’t have to stay there and continue to sink.  I can choose to change my focus from the storm to my Savior.

The Scriptures say we are going to have troubles in life (John 16:33) but they also give promises related to those troubles.  So when I am sinking into despair the first thing I do is choose to remember the promises of God.  I go through the mental exercise of remembering God’s promises.  I recall

 

 

 

 

Those promises are the first things I call to mind.  They remind me of what is true about God and my relationship with Him.  Next – I remember past storms and what I have experienced in my walk with God – His faithfulness to me.

As I recall the “monuments of God’s faithfulness”, I can see that some of the biggest storms of my life – storms I never would have chosen – have turned out to be the biggest blessing in my life. By focusing on these “monuments” I am reminded that any challenge that I may face – no matter how difficult or painful – it is not the end of the story.

When I start focusing on God rather than on the current storm – no matter how bad it is – an amazing peace overcomes me and I am able to walk through the storm.  This does not mean my situation improves or my pain goes away.  It simply means I have peace in the midst of the storm.  I have peace because I have hope.  I have hope because God is trustworthy.  I can trust His promises.  I know He will be faithful to do what He says He will do.

We are imperfect human beings.  For those who call themselves Christians – learning to focus on God and give Him control is our lifelong pursuit.  Peace is an overflow – a byproduct of our relationship with Him.  It is available to the weakest of us in the midst of any storm.  We can be assured …

*Divine Disconnection – God is the source of Peace, so when I don’t have a relationship with Him – when I don’t spend time with Him through prayer, worship, meditation or experience Him through Scripture – I’ve unplugged myself from the source of peace. 

 

 

 

*Refusal to Release – God promises His peace to those who present their requests to Him.  When I don’t hand my problems over to God, He can’t hand His peace offer to me.

 

 

 

 

Discovering Peace

My Discovery Journey

 I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid.
JOHN 14:27   (NLT)

 

As strange as it may sound, I was at peace when I was wheeled into the operating room for the amputation of my left arm.  During the previous months, my arm had become more than a nuisance to me.  Three surgeries had removed much of my upper arm.  I was fighting a staph infection that had left three open, draining holes in my upper arm. It hurt and I could hardly use it.  With all the physical complications, I was at peace with becoming an amputee.

I wasn’t fooling myself by thinking this was going to be a breeze – not at all.  I knew that when the arm was completely gone I would have a whole new set of problems.  But at the same time, I had deep-rooted peace because I knew that God was in control.  I also knew He would give me the strength to get through whatever lay ahead.  I was ready to move forward with my life.

BUT … Despite the fact that I was at peace with God and I was at peace with losing my arm, I was not prepared for what I was about to face.  It was one thing to face the physical challenges – I knew it would be hard but I was certain I could handle that.  But I had no idea of the emotional impact of being an amputee – no longer being a “whole” person – would have on me.

In some respects, the peace I had was shattered.  It was as if someone had taken a beautiful piece of pottery and smashed it into pieces.  The amputation shattered the peace of who I was.  I had to look myself in the mirror and face myself.  It wasn’t a pretty picture – I didn’t like what I saw. The amputation forced me to search and struggle to find out who I truly was.

But as I struggled, God took me – like a broken pot – and started putting the pieces back together.  He redefined me – showing my heart who I was in His eyes – not who I was in my eyes or the eyes of others.  As a result, I began to experience an even deeper peace than I had known before.

That peace did not come without frustration.  It did not come without pain – emotional and physical.  In fact it came as a result of brokenness.  It came through the Refiner’s Fire.

When the heat is on – when we’re feeling the pressure of suffering – we have a choice to seek God or to fight Him.  I did some of both.  I did my share of whining and complaining.  I clawed and scratched my way through it but I eventually faced the “big question.”  It wasn’t about whether or not I was a baseball player.  It wasn’t even about the uncertainty of what lay ahead on my life’s journey.  The question was between God and me.  It was about whether or not I would trust God in the midst of the uncertainty of life.

I walked out of that experience saying “Yes! God can be trusted.  I can trust God for the strength to live life regardless of what it throws my way.  Not only that, I can even trust Him for the ability to experience joy along the way!”

Discovering that I can truly trust God has given me a great sense of peace.  That peace is not dependent on anything that happens in this life – not even on whether I survive.  That peace rests in God and the promise He has made that I will spend eternity in heaven with Him.  The real peace that is in Dave Dravecky is the hope of heaven, a hope made possibly by what Jesus endured on the cross for my sake.  And nothing – nor anyone can ever take that hope away from me.

We are God’s Gift of Grace
To One Another

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement
and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you
in every good deed and word.
2 THESSALONIANS 2:16   (NIV)

What a privilege to extend God’s gift of grace to one another.  As our hearts have been encouraged by His grace – we have all been called to share His grace with others.

Grace is God’s love applied to our human condition.  It is seen in a helping hand for the weary, in compassion for the broken, understanding for the confused, tenderness for the wounded, acceptance for the fallen and a loving embrace for the returning prodigal.

God’s grace is …

    *Grace is powerful beyond our imagination.  It is the most amazing act of grace in all of history.  It compelled the King of Heaven to become a man and die a terrible death on behalf of the human race.

    *Grace is water for the thirsty, food for the starving, a helping hand for the weak, tender compassion for the sick and shelter for the homeless. The gift of God’s grace is the single greatest gift we can offer a pain-wracked world.

    *Grace is God’s love in action. The expression of God’s grace is the most precious commodity in all of creation.  It Makes God’s love real to even the hardest, most wretched, wounded and hopeless heart.

    *Grace isn’t shocked by the depth of human brokenness or sinfulness.  It doesn’t turn away in disgust or judgment from the sinner or the soul in pain. Instead it embraces the one made in the image of God no matter how marred the image may be.

    *Grace does not excuse wrongdoing.  It does not excuse sin. Instead, it chooses to love the sinner.

    *Grace doesn’t judge or condemn.  It knows that all people are broken and in need of mending so it does not presume that one is better than the other.

    *Grace places no expectations on its recipients.  It is given freely – no strings attached.

    *Grace embraces us right where we are.  It doesn’t sit on the sidelines awaiting our arrival at an acceptable position before it is given.

    *Grace takes the high road in human relationships. It chooses to reach out rather than to rather than to retaliate.  It chooses to forgive, accept and embrace rather than turn away in anger, contempt or indifference.

    *Grace is gentle and unassuming. It creates a safe place for the wounded and downtrodden to uncover their wounds so that they can be healed.

    *Grace has no limits. We need only ask God to provide it. He never tires of our requests because He knows our need.  Because we know …

 

The Gift of Grace

 Extending God’s Grace

 

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,
as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 PETER 4:10

During our time through the valley of suffering, both Dave and I were in great need of God’s Grace and the extension of His Grace to one another.  Both of us exposed our weaknesses like never before.  For me it was fear and depression – for Dave it was anger.

During that season Dave aimed his anger and verbal abuse at our children and me.  It was like walking on eggshells in our house.  No one wanted to upset the apple cart or cross Dave in the wrong way because we knew what the result would be – an explosion of anger and rage.

Looking back I should have thought that this was not fair.  Here I was – selflessly taking care of him – loving him through his pain and yet he was taking his pain out on me – I did not deserve it.  But even though I hated his behavior my response was not anger at him – I felt sorry for him.

Many have asked me how I could show such compassion after the way he was treating me but the reason was that I knew his heart. I knew that he did not want to respond in that way but he could not control it.  After each explosion he always expressed so much remorse.

I knew that at the root of Dave’s anger was fear, frustration and hurt.  I knew that he was unable to cry to express those emotions.  The only way for him to express his unrelenting pain was anger.

I also knew that I was a child of God who sins– an undeserving recipient of God’s Grace – for which I was eternally thankful. Because I knew how much I have been forgiven and I was aware of how God’s Grace had been extended to me – it was not difficult for me to extend that same grace to Dave. 

 

 

The Gift of Grace

Receiving God’s Grace
in my Weakness

 

 

During our time of suffering many of my fleshly weaknesses and sins were exposed.  After two and a half years of Godly counseling & therapy though I thought that I had come out on the other side of that valley totally renewed – free from my sins and weaknesses.  NOT!!!!!!!  (Oh God forgive me for my youth and naivety!)

Now as I have grown older I am more aware of my weaknesses and the sin that still exists within me.  This has caused me much frustration and shame.  Oh, how I identify with the Apostle Paul when he said … 

 

 

 

Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.
ROMANS 7:24-25  (NLT)

 

Amen!!!  Thank you Jesus – the answer is You!   But I still wanted to know how to resolve my sin dilemma.

Well, I have recently learned that true repentance is going before God – admitting my sin, weaknesses and my inability to resolve them in my own power.  Instead of turning away from God – I turn to Him because I know that the only resolution to sin will come through His grace, His power and His Strength within me. I trust the words of Paul … 

 

 

I no longer am frustrated by my weakness but I humbly turn them over to God, receive His Grace and trust Him to continue the good work within me

I love it when the Scripture validates my own personal experience.  The Apostle Paul was one of the most gifted and influential Christians in recorded history.  God used him to firmly establish and expand the early church.  Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he penned most of the New Testament Epistles.  He is regarded by most scholars as one of the strongest examples of a true Christian.  Yet Paul had a major weakness.

Paul was given a “thorn” in his flesh.  We do not know if this was a physical or an emotional weakness but we do know that he was “tormented” by the “thorn”.  He pleaded three times for the “Lord to take it away from me.”

But God’s response was no.  God allowed Paul’s torment, his weakness to, remain.  God knew that Paul’s weakness kept him dependent upon Him for strength and grace.  God also knew that Paul’s weakness spared him from self-dependence and pride because Paul knew how much he needed God’s Grace.

It is no different for us.  We need God’s grace.  No matter how disappointed we may be in our failures and weaknesses, God is gracious and generous in dispensing His grace to us.  Our human frailty is not an affront to Him – “He remembers that we are dust.”  The more we lack, the more His grace will fill us. 

When we turn to Him, admit our weaknesses and limitations to God, we take the first step toward receiving His all-sufficient grace.  No wonder Paul found delight in his weaknesses and difficulties.  He knew what when he was weak; God’s grace would make him even stronger.  I am so glad to proclaim as Paul did …

The Gift of Grace

Discovering God’s Grace
 

 

Thirty-one years ago I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and my world was rocked and changed forever.  I received the gift of salvation with such joy and excitement – I wanted everyone to experience that same joy.  So with great exuberance I shared the Gospel with everyone that crossed my path!

One problem though was when I became a Christian I did not understand God’s Gift of Grace. While I was always able to extend Grace to others especially those who were suffering – I was not able to extend that same Grace to my family or receive His Grace myself.  UNTIL …

Last year when I was looking for a Christian book to read while I was traveling, I asked God to lead me to something new and inspiring.  As I scanned my bookshelves I noticed a book entitled TrueFaced.  Now this book had been on my shelf for seven years and I had never read it.  Why was I now drawn to it?  I did not know at the time – but I took it off the shelf and put it in my brief case to read on my flight.

As I read the book I immediately knew why God led me to this book.  The book presented two paths – “The Path of Pleasing God” and “The Path of Trusting God”.  I was immediately drawn to “The Path of Pleasing God.” After all, I thought, wasn’t that the more admirable path?

My eyes were opened when “The Path of Pleasing God” led me to “The Room of Good Intentions” and the word over the doorknob was “Self Effort”.

I realized that …

• Self-effort was the story of my life – putting forth the effort to please God.  This led to weariness and  emptiness.
• I was “striving hard to be all God wants me to be” but I was never able to achieve God’s standard.  This led to frustration and guilt.
• I was “working on my sin to achieve an intimate relationship with God” but when I would always fall short that was when I turned away from God in shame.
• “Increasingly the path to pleasing God seems to be about how I can keep God pleased with me” and because I could not resolve my sin in my own power it caused me to put on masks to hide those sins. At least when I wore the masks I would be accepted in my Christian community.
• My life equation was “more right behavior + less wrong behavior = Godliness.”  The problem was my wrong behavior often outweighed my right behavior leading to more frustration, guilt and shame.

But then “The Path of Trusting God” led me to the “Room of Grace” and the word over the this doorknob was “Humility.”

I was humbled as I learned that …

• “We can never resolve our sin by working on it” – only God can resolve our sin – this leads us to victory.
• “Only by trusting can we truly please God.  If our primary motive is pleasing God, we’ll never please Him enough and we’ll never learn trust.  Pleasing God is a good desire.  It just can’t be our primary motivation or it’ll imprison our hearts” and cause us to wear masks and not be real.
• “Until you trust God nothing you do will please God.”  I am going to trust Him to deliver me from my sin.
• “Pleasing is not a means to our godliness.  It is the fruit of our godliness, for it’s the fruit of trust.”
• True Grace was “Standing with God, my sin in front of us, working on it together.”

  Answer this question:
  Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence,
  his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you?

  The obvious impossibility of carrying out such a moral program should make it plain that no one can sustain a relationship with God that way.
  The person who lives in right relationship with God
  does it by embracing what God arranges for him.
  Doing things for God is the opposite of entering into what God does for you. Habakkuk had it right:
  “The person who believes God, is set right by God—and that’s the real life.” Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith,
  but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping,
  a fact observed in Scripture: “The one who does these things [rule-keeping] continues to live by them.”
  GALATIANS 3:5-6,11-12   (THE MESSAGE)

Because of these revelations from God through this book, I have become a different man.  God’s Grace has set me free from striving and it relieved my guilt and shame at my inability to live the perfect life. It allowed me to remove my masks so that I could trust God and others with who I truly am – warts and all.  It caused me to throw myself at the feet of Jesus where I know Jesus will empathize with my weakness and I will receive His mercy and grace.

The Gift of Grace

Discovering God’s Grace

And God is able to make all grace abound to you.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8

 

One of the most enlightening and freeing times in my personal spiritual journey was when I began discovering the gift of God’s grace.  I knew that God had extended His grace to the whole human race by sending His Son, Jesus, to die as payment for our sins and to rise again so that we could have eternal life with God.  But deep inside I still operated in the belief that God’s love for me had everything to with how well I performed.  So when I accepted Jesus as my Savior, God’s name was added to the top of a long list of people I felt that I needed to please – people whose love I had to earn.

God didn’t allow me to operate in that belief for very long, however.  While Dave and I lived in Puerto Rico, where Dave played winter ball, we participated in a Bible study on the book of Ephesians.  Through that study I came to realize that God’s love for me had nothing to do with how well I performed nor was it about the works I did for Him. In fact, I learned that I couldn’t do anything to earn God’s love. 

 

God also knew I needed more than a revelation about His grace – I needed an object lesson.  That lesson came in the form of our daughter Tiffany – who was born with a strong will.  No matter how many times her will and my will collided or how unlovely she acted – my love for Tiffany was totally unaffected by her actions.  My love for her amazed me and for the first time I began to understand God’s grace.  Because I had such great love and grace for my child, I was finally able to understand God’s love for me as His child in spite of my weaknesses and faults.

Years later, when Dave and I went through our times of personal suffering, grace once again played a key role in my spiritual journey.  Like many people who endure the varied trials that come with a cancer diagnosis, we lost control of our lives.  We were hurting.  We weren’t fun to be around.  We didn’t look like model Christians any longer.  The ugliness of pain and suffering was clearly visible in our lives.  We were ashamed – we needed grace.

Although many people in our lives at that time were unable to extend that grace to us – we thank God that a few of  his children extended His grace to us.  They forgave, accepted and loved us as we were – with all of our pain, ugliness, anger, doubt and shame.

Instead of telling us what we should or shouldn’t do – they let us vent and they listened.  Instead of condemning us – they validated our feelings and were truly sorrowful with us over what we were going through – they wept with us.  Instead of abandoning us because we were not being “very Christ-like” – they stood by us and helped see us safely through to the other side.  Healing came as grace was given to us.

We learned firsthand what a gift is when grace was extended to us during our time of suffering.  We all need someone to reach out to us with God’s gift of grace.  Grace lifts us up and gives us hope.

Grace has been called “the glue that mends our brokenness,” and in suffering our brokenness is fully exposed.  Grace, then, is indispensable in times of affliction.  Grace says, “I love you warts and all.  I understand that pain has stripped away the veneer that covers your raw, unlovely humanity.  But you are made in God’s image.  You are therefore, the most precious and priceless thing in all His creation.  So I will extend unwarranted love and kindness toward you because God has extended it to me.”

And because God’s grace was extended to us in such a mighty way – we extend His grace to you.

Focus Not on What is Seen

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:18

“Keep your eye on the ball.”  That is one of the cardinal principles of baseball, whether you are batting or fielding.  A variation says, “Look the ball into your glove.”  The idea in both cases is that disaster strikes when you fail to maintain visual contact with the ball.

This is one time when a principle about baseball does not hold true in the spiritual realm.  In fact, the complete opposite is true.  In the arena of the spirit, if you maintain visual focus with visible realities and take your eyes off what is unseen, you are in trouble.  Let me explain.

God tells us in His Word that if we insist on fixing our eyes on what is seen – on houses, cars, clothes, jewelry – we will never be able to “hit the ball” in the spiritual realm.  We will continue to swing and miss until we are out of outs and the game is over.

When we are consumed by the material, it returns the favor and consumes us.  That is why Ecclesiastes says things like “whoever loves money never has money enough” and “the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”  When our main focus is on the material we lose sight of the unseen – we lose sight of God – our eternal director.

I will always remember a personal story that a man told me about his home two weeks after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.  He said that fifteen years before the quake, he and his wife had bought their  “dream home” in Santa Cruz – the epicenter of the earthquake.

They spent fifteen years of their lives putting all their time, money, and efforts into that home – their main focus in life.  Many times, he chose to stay home on Sunday mornings and work on his house instead of going to church.  His home had become his god. 

But during the earthquake, in a short fifteen seconds – one second for every year he spent worshiping his “god” – his home was completely destroyed.

We cannot afford to fix our eyes on what is seen.  It doesn’t last and it doesn’t satisfy.  In fifteen seconds it can all be gone.  Let’s look at what Jesus warned …

 

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed.
Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Then he told them a story:
“A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.

Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
LUKE 12:15-21

 

 

 

Loosen Your Grip

Trust in the LORD with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
 PROVERBS 3:5-6   (NLT)

 

 

You know that I love comparing the game of baseball to the journey through life.  It is amazing to me how many principals hold true for both baseball and life.

For instance, there is the principal of the batter loosening his grip on the bat rather than tightening his grip when he is at the plate.  The batter loosens his grip as the pitch is thrown so that his hands are relaxed then he is ready and set up for connecting firmly to the pitch.

I was recently sent a devotional written by Cathy Jodeit whose 16-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2006.  Cathy began to journal her journey during that time and now has a website and shares her devotionals to encourage others.   www.cathyjodeit.com

I wanted to write my own analogy on this principal of baseball and life but I think I will just share what Cathy shared in that devotional about Loosening Your Grip.

 

“… It has occurred to me that loosening the grip on a bat in a baseball game is very closely related to holding life loosely.  I don’t know about you but the tighter I try to hold onto life and try to control it, the more frustrated, disappointed, angry or fearful I seem to get.  It is only when I let go and let God be my navigator and the true holder of what is going on that I am freed up to give it my best.  My best wisdom, my best attempt, my best acceptance, my best attitude, my best swing, etc.

We tend to choke up when we are put in pressure situations – get anxious about an outcome – unsure about our ability to cope – too dependent on the results.  That is one of my greatest obstacles to overcome – to quit trying to not only control situations but people and let God be the one that I go to for security in situations and let God be the one who directs others HIS WAY and not be insistent on them responding in MY way.

Life throws us all kinds of balls, fastballs, slow balls, curves balls, sliders BUT God is the one who knows what is coming.  If we loosen our grip on life and focus on Jesus … it is then that we have the potential that God has given us to get on base or even hit a homerun in the situation that we are standing at the plate, waiting and pondering with great hope how it is to turn out.

We are called to loosen our grip on life and let God tighten His on our lives.  For that is where we will find true victory and joy.”

 

Loosen your grip on your life and experience true victory and peace in knowing that He guides and holds us
with His right hand…