I’m going to make a confession. I think you can handle it, although it’s rather difficult for me to admit.

I don’t like darkness.

I think that’s a manly way of saying, “I’m afraid of darkness.” I’m not talking about carrying a “blankie” and sucking my thumb because there are monsters under my bed (there used to be when I was 6). It’s not an inordinate fear of the boogie man, Frankenstein’s Monster, or that “something evil’s lurking in the dark.” (thanks Thriller) Please understand, I do believe there is evil out there and that we need to be concerned and prepared for it.  But that’s not so much where my fear comes from, so we’ll talk about that a little bit more in a minute.

The things I’m most afraid of in the dark are obstacles that can get in the way of where I’m going.  They always seem to be right at knee-high and I always find them. Years ago, during a power outage in our church in Delaware, I was walking through a room with no windows in the dead of night to get to a flashlight so that I could act like I was going to do something about the power outage (men, you know what I’m talking about). There was something in the darkness of that room that I was unaware of. In the darkness of that room were the tables that several of the people in our church had set up for a dinner that Sunday.  Guess what! I found those tables! With my knee and unexpectedly! It hurt, I danced, and I found more tables. In the middle of that room, I decided to crawl until I could get to the flashlight. I’m sure all of you would have enjoyed being in the room to see this experience. The interesting thing is that once I found the flashlight and turned it on, I walked back through that same room without incident. The Light makes all the difference.

The evil one wants to trip you, trap you, and destroy you. He wants nothing more than to make your life miserable and in turn make all around you miserable. He does this by hiding obstacles, traps, and pitfalls in the darkness and then convinces you that it’s perfectly normal to walk in the darkness. Many times after we get hurt because we found the trouble in the dark the first person we blame is God. But God cannot be blamed for us walking in darkness.

One author in the New Testament carries a consistent theme throughout all of his writings. John records over and over again as inspired by the Holy Spirit the idea of Christ being light. Read what John says about Jesus in just the first 9 verses of his record of the Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:1-9)

We can rejoice knowing that we do not have to live in darkness, but that we can walk with the Savior Jesus in His light. We don’t have to generate our own light, we must simply allow His light to shine through us. See what Peter says in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” You see, God has called me to Himself so that I no longer have to walk in darkness.

Darkness is lonely!

I hate the feeling of being alone. Darkness does that to a person. In the midst of the darkness you could be surrounded and still feel alienated from everything and everyone around you. But the light brings us together. I love the “togetherness” of the light. John writes about this fellowship in his first epistle. He says:

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:5-10)

God wants to have communion with us as His children. We were made for fellowship with Him. Not only Him, we were made for fellowship with others. The only way we’ll ever see God work in us, through us, and around us is if we do life His way. He wants us to be together in the commonality of His Son Jesus Christ.

Friend, if you are struggling and agonizing with loneliness, plug into the marvelous light of Jesus. Walk in Him. Know His ways. Follow His path.

Light is to be Shared.

Not only are we to have fellowship with other believers, we are to share the Light those around who are walking in darkness. Look at what Jesus says in Matthe 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” God wants me to share the Light of Jesus with the world around me so that they no longer have to walk in darkness.

This Christmas you can celebrate the joy of knowing that there is Light in the midst of the darkness. That’s why Jesus came. he came to give light to a people who needed to see. “See what?” You might ask. He came so that we could see that we needed Him; that we needed a Savior. Many shrink and cower from the light because they know down deep who they really are. Many of you reading this constantly wonder, “If people know who I truly am, will they want (love) me?” That’s why you are scared of the Light. You are worried that if God sees me in the Light, He’ll see who you truly are and not want you. If He sees that you are dirty, messed up, and sinful He won’t care about you. But that the awesome thing! God sees you for who you really are and loves you! He made you and wants you. Emmanuel (God with us) wants to be with you. He wants to redeem the messed up stuff of you to Himself. He gave you the Light of Christ so that you no longer have to walk in the shame of the darkness.

Celebrate the Light. Walk in the Light. Share the Light.

We all have different ideas and perceptions of what peace is.

Your childhood probably plays a large role in how you view peace. The way you interacted with siblings and friends, the relationship your parents had with each other, and the experiences you had with authority in every form all have a defining responsibility in how you understand peace.  Some of you reading this experienced harmful and excruciating instances of abuse as children while others of you were blessed to enjoy your childhood with a strong support network and family. Please let me say from the onset, I am deeply hurt by some of the stories I have heard over the years of abuse, neglect, and deprivation. I am concerned for those who have told me their difficult and confidential stories of pain.  I am so sorry for you if this is you and my listening ear, comforting words, and supporting shoulder are always available for you. My heart aches for you and my soul craves a lasting peace for you to take hold of.

No matter your background or upbringing, I am going to take a leap and say that you are longing for peace.

Whether your life has been a walk in the park or trek through impassible obstacles; you want peace.  Many want to be brought back together with forgotten friends and long to mend broken relationships but struggle for 2 reason. They are afraid of being hurt or are unsure of how to make peace. You might be thinking, “That isn’t me, I’m not afraid of anything!” Maybe you say, “I know what to do and how to make peace, I just don’t want to.” Then let me ask you, Why haven’t you yet made peace? Many times it is because we have the ideas in our minds, but we struggle to put into action our ideas.  Please understand that any reward worth having requires some risk. That’s part of the adventure.  No relationship is mended, no brokenness is fixed, and no problem is solved without the risk of failure. Let me encourage you to risk for the reward of peace. It will require humility and an attitude of contrition. It will necessitate you listening, understanding, and learning. Seeking peace may begin with an attitude of willing forgiveness and the presence of mind to seek forgiveness.  Remember to guard your heart, but don’t brick up your emotional availability to secure yourself from ever being reached.

A working definition for Peace

While I won’t bore you to tears with a replete definition, I don’t want to establish a baseline to create a practical definition for peace. MWD defines peace as:

There are three people with whom you need to seek peace.

You may need to seek peace with yourself. Many people I talk to and counsel have an inner conflict that has manifested itself into their outward behavior. They are deeply troubled within and struggle with living an abundant life.  If this is you, it is vital that you remember what Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”  God didn’t design you to war within yourself. He made you to have His spirit of power, love, and self-control. Outside influences can often plague the inner thoughts and needs of the heart. Be sure that your focus is stayed on the Way-maker. Your journey will be much more peaceful if you allow Immanuel to guide your steps on the path. Remember what the Psalmist proclaims to the Almighty in Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  The path to inner peace is led by the footprints of God. Follow His Word. Obey His teachings. Trust His Plan.

Peace may need to be made with others. Sometimes a relationship is broken because of the offense of another. They did something to hurt you or said something to shame you. It’s painful, detrimental, and it’s not right. Some of our relationships are torn because we offended someone else.  We were insensitive, short-tempered, or abusive in our handling of a situation or a person’s spirit. Once again, what we did was painful, detrimental, and plainly not right. But once it’s done, the offense can’t be taken back. Words said can’t be unsaid and actions committed can’t be uncommitted. So how do we avoid these breaks in relationships and how do we fix them once broken? To avoid them, I think Jesus has the perfect words in Matthew 22. Starting in verse 37 He tells an inquisitor, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Jesus’ answer instructs us to love.  I am empowered by God to love my neighbor as myself.  You could that we are to treat others the way we want to be treated. I don’t want to be hurt so I should hurt others.  I want to be loved so I should love others; even the unlovable! The same principle applies once the harm has been done. In order to seek reconciliation and mend the relationship whether the pain was caused by me or someone else, I need to love like I want to be loved.  As stated before, this means that I must show contrition and be willing to forgive. I must also be humble and seek forgiveness. In order to repair brokenness, I must be willing to accept responsibility for my failures. 

Lastly, but most importantly we need peace with God. Read what Paul says in Romans 5: 6-11, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Because of our sinful nature we are born an enemy of God.  I broke His law and His heart, thus He declares me His enemy.  The story would be awful if it ended there. BUT IT DOESN’T! The wonderful thing is that God demonstrates perfect love, perfect peace, and perfect reconciliation.  While I was continually breaking His heart and law (5:8), He sent Himself to love all over me and create peace with me (5:9-11).  Just so you understand, there is nothing that you or I have done to make peace with God.  He did it all. We were wrong, dead, broken in our sin and He loved us enough to send His saving grace in Jesus to heal the gaping wound we created.

Not only does this create peace between me and God, it creates a demonstration that I need to follow. Many practice reactive peacemaking. Once the relationship is broken, then we make peace. But if we follow the example of God through Christ, we are to be active peace makers. We are to live as peace promoters.  One way we can do this is by not being so easily offended by what others say or do to us.  Being considerate of others mental or emotional state, is vital to not being hurt by everyone all of the time. Much more could be said about this (and may be at a later time), but we cannot capitulate to being a member of the society of the perpetually offended. Nor should we seek to continually harm others.  Instead, we should seek to promote peace in every instance of life. Allow yourself to take pass on being first all of the time and give someone else the benefit of your consideration.  Be mindful of your surroundings (situational awareness) and see the opportunities to meet the need of a hurting friend or stranger.  Be a peacemaker and follow the steps of Jesus along the journey toward Christlikeness.  For those of you reading this that are mortally wounded by abuse, neglect, or shame; ask God to fight your battles for you. Continually seek His face in prayer to provide “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.“ (Philippians 4:7)

Promote Peace. Pray Passionately. Pursue His Presence.

What you are about to read is crazy!

It flies in the face of all that modern society in all of her acclaim and prestige will urge from you. To be honest with you, it goes directly against what many churches have taught and are currently teaching. Some of you will balk at a perceived tone of laziness or disenchantment. Some may be disheartened and frustrated that I have lost my mind and have lost touch with what’s going on in the world around me. For others, you will read this and find encouragement, peace, and rest.

What I am sharing with you in this refueling stop in our journey is not mine. It has come from years of study, personal experience (both failure and success), and a commitment to help others and myself. It is biblical.

Years ago while attending a men’s Bible study led by my great friend and mentor Adrian Despres, he introduced a concept that has changed my life. Please understand that I was the oddball in the room (which is often the case!). In this room of 25 plus men were doctors, attorneys, high-rise businessmen, politicians, and college professors. The elite of society; the busy and overloaded. I was the young pastor still wet behind the ears and comparatively speaking the most insignificant guy in the room. While studying with these fast-paced men, Adrian shared with us about his DAWG. Adrian told us that every so often he purposefully spent a Day Alone With God (DAWG). During this day, there was no cell phone, no other people, and no food only fasting.  Only a radio or mp3 player with Christian music was permitted. I was intrigued, and I had to do it. Years later, I still spend a Day Alone With God every so often (about once a quarter).

Why do I practice this? It’s the same reason you take your car for an oil change or tune up. For me it’s spiritual maintenance. The truth is, we all need rest. We all need a reset. We all need rhythm. What I’ve noticed (and I know you have too) is that when I get busy doing life my resources begin to deplete. I become tired, frustrated, and easily agitated. My focus drifts and thus my mission and purpose follow. I begin to rely on my strength, determination, and will instead of the will, grace, and omnipotence of a mighty God. The luster gets thin and shimmer no longer shines. The man in the mirror looks tired, embattled, and ungracious. And I know that’s who you see when you look in my direction. Without rhythm, resetting, and rest life does this to all of us.

So how do we fix this? How do I reflect God’s grace? How do I rest?

Simply do it. More intricately, it involves setting aside time in your busy life and schedule to spend time in quiet reflection and rest to recharge your battery and set a daily rhythm for the journey through which God is leading you. I want to share two thoughts specifically that I have incorporated into my life (I am continually learning) that will help you find rest.

As we read though the Old Testament, we see a concept that is foreign to most of us today. It’s the Hebrew word sabbat transliterated into English as sabbath. This word literally means “to cease, rest, or desist.” (EBD) This practice was ever present in the mind of the Hebrew and was modeled by the Creator Himself. Genesis 2:1-3 tells us, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Before I go any further, please let me explain that God wasn’t tired after creation. He was exhausted in a physical sense and needed to take a nap. He saw what He made, blessed it, and since it was “good” in His eyes He ceased (rested) His masterpiece. The Creator God set forth in motion for His people, both Jew and Gentile, a rhythm by which we can enjoy a blessed life.

Some might be thinking that this is an Old Testament part of the Law (10 Commandments) thus it doesn’t apply to Christians today since we are part of the Bride of Christ.  While the church is no longer under the Law of the Old Testament, rather the Law of Christ, the principle and practice of Sabbath are still beneficial and a blessing to all that practice this God-given rest.  We must remember that God gave us sabbath to bless us, not to keep us from doing things we think are important. This is what the religious elites of Jesus’ day had adulterated the sabbath to mean. The Pharisees and Sadducees created an additional set of laws based on their perception of what God meant when He gave us this blessing. That’s why so many of us are afraid of this concept today. Many fear it will keep them from doing what they need to do or that they don’t have time for this practice.

Friend, you don’t have time not to rest.

There needs to be a period of time in your week where you purposefully rest. The Hebrew people set aside an entire 24 hours from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday to observe the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:19). This doesn’t mean that you don’t do anything for 24 hours. That you sit on your hand or lay in bed all day. It does mean that you spend a period of time in quiet reflection and rest. This is not a substitute for your daily quiet time with God (more on this later). This is a purposeful time to spend enjoying the blessings of God including nature and the outdoors, food and it’s taste, and people and the relationships God has given you. I understand that there are some practical concerns that you may have depending upon your station in life. I’d love to communicate with you further to help you through some of your concerns. Send me an Email of contact me to share your concerns so we can help each other.

As I’ve studied this practice of Sabbath rest, one question has continually come to my attention whether asked by me or someone else. “How does rest help me if I am going right back to the same problems of life?” Let me say, I totally get it. There is nothing worse that the realization on the last day of a great vacation or time of holiday that you have rested but everything and everyone else hasn’t. Here is my second thought for you.

Practice continual rest.

The creator God and Savior Jesus are extending the invitation to continually rest. Listen to the invitation of Jesus In Matthew 11, “²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” WOW! How exciting to know that Jesus knows how I feel! He understands when I feel overwhelmed. He hears my cries of painful desperation. Jesus gives REST. Jesus extends to you the opportunity to rest in Him. When your world is crazy; He provides peace. When your surroundings leave you feeling unsafe; He is safe. When you are burdened and overwhelmed and your soul can’t take it any more; He can take it for you. He still requires that you take His yoke (not talking about eggs), but His word is sure and He guarantees that you can carry the load.

God has given you rest; take it. Make time to rest in His grace and enjoy His blessings. Find peace in a new perspective. Seek His truth and live in it.  Jesus has extended the invitation to rest in His unfailing arms of love. They are strong arms. Rest my friend, knowing that you are known and still loved.

Shhh. Be quiet. Be still. Mute the TV and put away your cell phone. In fact, put everything away for just a minute.

Listen. Do you hear that? Can you hear that deafening noise? Yes, that’s right; QUIET. You probably aren’t used to that rare, dull hum of nothingness. It may frighten you at first, but give it time and it will engulf your soul with contemplation, peace, and joy. Let me share a few thoughts on quietness I’ve had as I’ve spoken with some of you on the journey recently.

No kidding there I was, all alone with 3 boys and CHAOS. My wife went to spend some much needed time with her mother during a difficult time and it was now man time. For an entire week! It was fun, crazy, thrilling, exhausting! (Side note: mothers are amazing and should never be taken for granted) I found myself running around the house with my hair on fire. On top of getting 2 boys to school and 1 boy learning to walk and get into everything, I had to maintain the normal life duties like my pastoral responsibilities and political campaign assignments. Bed time couldn’t come fast enough each night! At the end of the day I would sit quietly on the couch. The TV was off, the lights were off, and I could hear myself breathe. I enjoyed those few moments of proverbial peace and quiet.

I think my experience is pretty common to most of us. It’s part of human nature to be busy filling my time with important tasks to accomplish. After all, my motto, “What’s next?” The culture doesn’t help much either. Whether you are the parent running around with those little blessings, the corner office business person who somehow manages, the student who has a stack of books to read and a pile of papers to write, or the seasoned veteran of life trying to squeeze in a few more adventures before the end comes; you are busy.

I don’t want to give you all of what I think you need to help with this problem we all have because it would probably overwhelm you. In the weeks to come, I’ll share more of what the Bible teaches and what I believe are necessary steps to your spiritual and emotional health. I’ll share some helpful tips on how you can joy in the journey and have calm in the storm, but more on that later.

What I want is to invite you to be still, to be quiet, and to enjoy those moments in the calm.

Some of you may be thinking, “I have way too much to do!” or “Who will get everything done if I don’t?” I think those are some of the same thoughts and concerns the poet that penned Psalm 46 has. Read what he writes,

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah