Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

The waters of the great flood covered the earth for 150 days.
It was 40 days after that before Noah opened a window on the ark.
The water receded steadily from the earth.
At the end of the hundred and fifty days
the water had gone down.
GENESIS 8:3

The waters of the great flood covered the earth for 150 days. It was 40 days after that before Noah opened a window on the ark. How dark, smelly and confining it must have been in the ark for all those days. How difficult (and frightening) that wait must have been.

Waiting is one of the most difficult things we will ever be asked to do. Waiting can prompt us to fret, to stew, to become anxious, even to rebel. Waiting patiently does not come easily to any of us – especially when we are suffering. Yet without developing this trait in our lives, we can never hope to enjoy God’s greatest blessings – nor will we ever become a great blessing to someone in need who finds themselves in God’s waiting room.

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
they run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind.
ISAIAH 40:31 (THE MESSAGE)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

May the God of Peace,
who through the blood of the eternal covenant
brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep,
equip you with everything for doing His will,
HEBREWS 13:20-21 (NIV)

What a crazy world we live in. Oh, how we need God to breathe peace on our planet. Actually, He has, according to these verses. No matter how wild the world gets, we can experience this glorious peace because hostility no longer exists between the Father and us.

Still, it’s a crazy world. We need the peace of God that rules in our hearts (Colossians 3:15). God is with us, right in the middle of our world. And anywhere, at any time, we may turn to Him, hear His voice, and know His peace.

It’s my prayer that you turn your thoughts toward His calm and quiet. Hold the world at bay. Live in many moments of rest. May the peace of God go before you, leading you into each day. For whenever we look up into the face of our Father, whenever we quiet our spirit to hear His voice, we have found divine peace this crazy world can never take away.

JONI EARECKSON TADA

And let the peace that comes from Christ
rule in your hearts.
COLOSSIANS 3:15 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

“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 (WORDS OF JESUS – NLT)

In trying times like these it is hard to conceive that we can ever attain “peace of mind and heart” with all the uncertainties we are experiencing. We so desperately want that “peace” so we are not “troubled or afraid.”

At first, when Dave and I were experiencing our first major affliction which involved the journey through cancer, amputation and debilitating depression, I did not attain the “peace of mind and heart” I so desperately desired. The turning point came about when I came across this writing in a book that was given to me entitled “Let Go” by Francois Fenelon who was a 17th century Archbishop in France:

“We can add to our God-given cross by agitated resistance and an unwillingness to suffer. A cross which comes from God ought to be welcomed without any concern for self. And when you accept your cross this way, even though it is painful, you will find that you can bear it in peace. But when you receive your cross unwillingly, you will find it to be doubly severe. The resistance within is harder to bear than the cross itself! But if you recognize the hand of God and make no opposition to His Will, you will have peace in the midst of affliction.” FRANCOIS FENELON

I learned that I was experiencing what I called “double pain”. I not only had the pain of our affliction but the pain of my resistance and resentment. Once I stopped resisting, let go, accepted our cross and started trusting Him I began to experience “the peace which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7).

“I have told you all this
so that you may have peace in me.
Here on earth you will have
many trials and sorrows.
But take heart,
I have overcome the world.”
JOHN 16:33 (WORDS OF JESUS – NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on the heights.
HABAKKUK 3:17-19 (NIV)

In our wilderness, Jan and I learned to trust God, even though at times every visible trace of Him had vanished. But we finally came to the point that Habakkuk did when he prayed “Though …” (Habakkuk 3:17-19).

Those verses brought us such comfort. We took encouragement in knowing that the wilderness was part of the spiritual landscape trudged by many people whom God has greatly used. This knowledge didn’t take away our pain, but it did give us hope that we were not banished to the desert forever. We believed what God promised to the Israelites was true for us too:

“For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
ISAIAH 43:19 (NLT)

We also found comfort in realizing that Moses spent 40 years in the desert and that God used that time to teach him lessons that would later equip him for mighty exploits. We put our trust and hope in God, that He would do the same for us.

But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
JEREMIAH 17:7-8 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
PSALM 4:1,8 (NIV)

Sleep is one of the first areas affected when we face severe trials. It often flees from us like a wildebeest before a lion, like a scrap of paper before a windstorm. Yet God tells us in Psalm 4 that sleep is possible, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

During our three-year ordeal in the wilderness, circumstances continually went from bad to worse. But while events around me seemed ominous, it gave me hope to know that God promises we can enjoy peaceful sleep – not because our circumstances will change during the night, but because “you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (v. 8).

I still use the quality of my sleep as a litmus test. If my sleep is troubled, I consider that a sign that I am trying to sustain myself rather than trusting God. The remedy? Return to the wisdom of Psalm 4, ask God to relieve my distress, and trust in the Lord. Then “I will lie down and sleep in peace” (v.8).

You can go to bed without fear;
you will lie down and sleep soundly.
You need not be afraid of sudden disaster
or the destruction that comes upon the wicked,
for the Lord is your security.
He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
PROVERBS 3:24-26 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.
I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
PSALM 4:1,8 (NLT)

Sleep is one of the first areas affected when we face severe trials. It often flees from us like a wildebeest before a lion, like a scrap of paper before a windstorm. Yet God tells us in Psalm 4 that sleep is possible, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

During our three-year ordeal in the wilderness, circumstances continually went from bad to worse. But while events around me seemed ominous, it gave me hope to know that God promises we can enjoy peaceful sleep – not because our circumstances will change during the night, but because “you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

I still use the quality of my sleep as a litmus test. If my sleep is troubled, I consider that a sign that I am trying to sustain myself rather than trusting God. The remedy? Return to the wisdom of Psalm 4, ask God to relieve my distress, and trust in the Lord. Then “I will lie down and sleep in peace.”

My child, don’t lose sight
of common sense and discernment.
Hang on to them,
for they will refresh your soul.
You can go to bed without fear;
you will lie down and sleep soundly.
You need not be afraid of sudden disaster
or destruction that comes upon the wicked,
PSALM 89:21 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Peace

“… for the Lord searches every heart
and understands every motive behind the thoughts.
If you seek him,
He will be found by you;”
1 CHRONICLES 28:9 (NIV)

On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is found one of Michelangelo’s most famous paintings. God is shown reaching down from heaven, hand extended, to touch the outstretched hand of man. The natural human response to pain and suffering is to do just the opposite; to recoil and retreat in fear and anger. When we suffer the very thing we need most – the love and intimacy of God – can seem farthest from us.

Our goal as encouragers must be to gently and lovingly pick up the weary arm and lift it heavenward, connecting or reconnecting it with its source of joy, peace and eternal life.

I will steady him with my hand;
With my powerful arm I will make him strong.
PSALM 89:21 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky