"When peace like a river, attendeth my way...."

Currently listening to Timothy Keller's sermon on PEACE. (thanks, Joel!) Oh my. In light of what happened in Boston yesterday (praise God Zack, Michelle, Charlie, and Grady are okay!)...in light of all this talk about North Korea...in light of the way that my students sometimes talk about their lives.....WOW. Now here are my messy, sloppy, poorly-quoted thoughts on what I listened to tonight: Timothy Keller says that when people feel anxiety, worry, and the anti-peace...they will go to Barnes and Noble or Borders to find a good book on how to get peace. Keller said that most books will suggest that you STOP thinking, that you get yourself on a beach somewhere, and you 'put it all out of your mind.' Contrary to that worldly thought, Keller suggests that when we are seeking peace, that we, "Think about doctrine. Think about what God says about Himself, about Us, about His world." Keller encourages believers in Christ to think about the promises of God - that God will work everything out for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8). When we park ourselves on the beach ('escape our problems') and stop thinking about our worries - do we really get a deep sense of peace? Not really...right? Because at some point we come home from the beach. At some point we do have to face difficult circumstances again - after our lovely vacation (please...go on vacation - it is so fun and worthwhile...but don't see it as the solution, right?) (PS: I am saying this to myself as much as to anyone crazy enough to read this blog post...) :) Keller says "Think. Thank. Love." THINK about such things: "That which is pure, true, noble, beautiful, lovely..." (Philippians 4) and when we do - we receive peace. Well, GOD is all those things - and His promises are just that - lovely, true, beautiful. Keller said something like, "God created the world with the intention of it being GOOD, and He will restore it to be just that one day." (poorly quoted...I apologize...but you get the idea) Thank God. Even in the midst of our prayers - our UNANSWERED prayers - we thank Him for the answers He will give to us in the end. We thank Him because we know that He has our best interest at heart - even if we don't get "what we want." We think we know what we want - we think that will satisfy us. We think we need to have this or that, or be this or that, and then we will have peace. Do we trust God enough to rest secure that even when He does not answer our prayers like we want Him to - we thank Him for the work He is going to accomplish amid our circumstances? (sort of my thought, mostly Kellers...but all God's. :) ) Love. "Love God supremely. Find God unbelievably lovely. That's how you're going to find tranquility." - Keller "If you love anything more than God, if you live for anything more than God...your life is going to be restless." WHEW! Did ya hear that one? ANYTHING. Anything more than God. YIKES. But the truth is that those things we love will not give us a deep down, soul-quenching peace, will they? Or maybe they will for a time...but then that fades. But again - if we go back to THINKING about God and His promises...and THANKING God for what He will accomplish...we fall more in love with the character of God. "Jesus lost all of His peace so we could have eternal peace." - Keller. Ponder that one for a moment or two. Jesus - He lost it all, on the cross, for us. For me. For you. So that in the end, we'd be at peace. Even if we live in the midst of awful or frustrating circumstances right now...in the life to come, we will have eternal peace. Wowza. Uh, thanks, Jesus! :) Do you know the story of Horatio Spafford...who penned the song, "It is Well/Peace Like a River"? You need to know the story. Makes the song that much more meaningful. Don't sing the song without knowing the story. Seriously. Read the story. Then listen to this version of the song by one of my favorites. And this concludes your nightly version of "Allison's wandering thoughts." :)