The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Prince"
"For unto us, a child is born… the Prince of peace."
(Isaiah 9:6)
The Apostle Paul who lived under constant threat by political and religious leaders, and who was ultimately executed by Nero, nevertheless called Christians to believe our hearts can know peace in all things:
"Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
Through the prophet Isaiah, the Old Testament bears witness to the same blessed, but challenging truth:
"Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusted in Thee" (Isaiah 26:3).
Upon first consideration, these assurances seem little more than fanciful notions. Abiding peace in a fallen world that "lieth in wickedness?" (I John 5:19). A kept peace in a realm of problems, pain, sufferings, loss, and turmoil? An ongoing peace in the midst of the personal challenges we face on a daily basis? How is such an assured heart possible? If it is, how can we offer adequate prayers and supplications, or exercise the trust necessary to experience a heart of tranquility in a world of trouble?
The answer is that our prayers, supplications, and trust, while part of the equation, are not the primary agents of our experience of peace. The Prince, the Prince of Peace, occupies that office. Note that both the prophet and the apostle refer to our hearts being kept in peace. We are not the keeper. We are those who trust the Keeper, and pray unto Him. But our faith does not initiate or vouchsafe our peace. The Prince does that. The Lord Jesus Christ bestows His peace unto, upon, and within His children.
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 4:27).
To experience such assurance, we do not focus on how to pray, supplicate, and trust. We rather set our gaze on the trustworthiness of the Keeper. We fix our gaze upon His promises to be who He is, and do what He does. Rapt attention directed toward His faithfulness leads to our faith and prayer, which through God's answers result in a heart of peace regardless of tempest, trial, or trouble. As we often reference in these messages, we trust someone in direct proportion to how well we know them. Thus, we "consider Him… lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:3). The protocol of a mind at peace? "Consider Him." Such focus on the Prince cannot fail to elicit the prayer and faith that Scripture promises to result in realized experience of our Lord's heart of peace. Ever, always, and only, our faith flows from the fount and upon the current of His faithfulness. Peace flows with it as we heed the call to fix our gaze upon the prince, the Prince of peace. He will not fail us because no one has ever trusted the Lord Jesus Christ and been disappointed for doing so. And no one ever will.
"And I saw Heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True."
(Revelation 19:11)
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
(Hebrews 12:2)
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised."
(Hebrews 10:23)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful that promised."
(Hebrews 10:23)
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