Peace

Waters of Rest

/ brianhilton9 / 2 Comments

“Peace, peace to the far and to the near!”

The deep trembles

Proud waves recede

Their maker has spoken

“As I dwell in the high and holy place,

so do I also dwell with the lowly,

the contrite.”

Tumult ceases

Seafoam dissipates

“I am their peaceful habitation,

their secure dwelling.

I lead them to waters of rest.”

Sediment sinks to the bottom

A glassy sea mirrors the palette sky

Great calm rages through the hearts of His children

“The wicked are like the tossing sea;

There is no peace for them

I give my Son to the repentant

There is only peace for them.”

Patience

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Every spring, the naked trees that endured winter’s blusters clothe themselves in a spectacular array of colors and fragrances. It’s as if they are preparing for a special occasion, taking extra measures to exhibit their beauty.

One of the earliest arrivals to the spring banquet is the Magnolia tree. Her pinkish white petals and bright yellow carpels seem to signal to the rest of the trees that it is indeed time once again to blossom.

I’ve long adored the large Magnolia that stands outside the front of our house. As a young kid, I would climb it and hang on its branches. As I’ve grown older, I find myself admiring the beauty of its presence in the springtime and all that means.

Spring is my favorite season. When I see that Magnolia in the front bloom, I know that warm weather, sunshine, and rounds of golf are right around the corner. I’ve come to notice over the past several years however, that in terms of Magnolias, ours seems to be a late bloomer.

Along our road are several homes with Magnolias that bloom at least a week or even two before ours. Could they be a different type of Magnolia?  Sure. I’m no arborist! But in this discrepancy, I find myself awaiting the buds’ transformation into flowers with a frustrated sense of urgency. In something so seemingly inconsequential, I quickly grow impatient, and the once eloquent banquet scene is ruined by an unruly rush of the moment.

Sound ridiculous? I’m not actually staring out the window angry because the tree didn’t bloom fast enough, but I might as well be when I examine other areas of my life.

Take driving. I’m not sure of many things I dislike more than driving behind someone going less than the speed limit. It infuriates me. I start to tap the steering wheel. I huff and puff. I consider passing even though I know it’s a stupid idea. One day after this began happening more frequently, I began to think, “why do people around here drive so slow?!” Then, like a smack in the face, a thought popped into my mind.

“Why do you drive so fast?”

I began to thank God that I was getting stuck behind “slow” drivers after that. I still don’t enjoy going less than the speed limit, but these scenarios have elevated a desire in my heart that is so much more valuable than being able to do things quickly.

I used to understand patience as waiting. If I was having a good day, patience would be waiting with a positive attitude. If I was having a bad day, patience would be waiting angry that it wasn’t time yet. But most of the time, patience for me has been an enemy I try my best to defeat quickly and often.

I think that’s probably the case for most people. We’d rather not wait so we do everything we can, so we don’t have to. But perhaps you have come to see with me that impatience almost always produces negative results. It ruins good things. It actually capsizes the desire it claims to expedite delivery on.

For years I’ve been praying that God would make me a patient person. So much so, that I’ve grown quite impatient that I’m not as patient as I’d like to be yet. It’s kind of hilarious when you think about it. Growing impatient about having patience!

As I’ve searched God’s Word trying to learn what He says about patience, it often seems like the word is presented as an exhortation but seldom with a definition. But upon closer study, you’ll find that patience is defined much differently than simply waiting or trying not to reduce your wait time.

Most of the references to patience I see in scripture are describing the character of God. Take Peter’s words as an example.

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:8

This oft-quoted verse is remarkable. This statement is made during a reminder about the return of Jesus Christ to earth and the subsequent judgement of those who don’t know Him. We learn that God doesn’t see time in the same way that we do, sure. But more than that, we see that God is patient.

What does that mean? Patience is one thing for fallible human beings who can’t really control much of anything. But for the God of the universe for whom nothing is impossible? We see here that His patience is not merely waiting because He can’t do anything else. It’s part of His nature and a reflection of His love for the world that He’d rather delay His wrath on those who don’t know Him as much as possible so that they might come to repentance.

While He’s been mocked through the centuries by those who laugh at the idea of His existence, He’s waited patiently for them to receive His gift of salvation in Jesus Christ through faith.

The thing that’s so incredible to me about that is the fact that He never has to be patient. He is God. He can do as He pleases when He pleases. Yet He chooses in love to be patient with sinners, as He simultaneously adorns the finishing preparation touches for the true banquet awaiting the redeemed in Heaven.

Patience isn’t something that we can impatiently produce within ourselves. It’s something God works into our hearts as He brings forth the blossoming of His kingdom in its time. As He has been and is incredibly patient with us, then we can be patient with one another and even ourselves.

But much more than that, God’s patience is one of the avenues of His love towards us, culminating with salvation by offering up His Son as the atoning sacrifice for your sins and mine. Yet, patience is appointed for a time. We would be fools to mistake His patience for silence as many have done throughout the centuries. Just as those Magnolia buds pop every spring, so will Christ return. Those who have received His Son by faith will be “caught up in the air” with Him. Those who have rejected Him will fall into the His hands and face the judgement they once mocked.

Patience is something we all need. Sure, for the things in our lives that can drive us crazy, but more so, we need God to be patient with us. The good news is He has been! Listen to Paul’s words.

“But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.”  – 1 Timothy 1:16

No matter what you’ve done or where you are right now, God has been patient with you. Receive His Son Jesus by faith. Seek Him. Wait upon Him. The result is much more beautiful than any Magnolia tree.

Golf Is Life?

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Golf is a sport of patience, tranquility, and focus.  So simple on the surface, most people who have never played before insist that it isn’t a hard sport, or it isn’t even a sport at all.  Professional golfer and US Open Winner Rory McIlroy describes himself as “hitting a little white ball around a field sometimes”.  When you look at it that way, it doesn’t get much simpler and perhaps this is one of the reasons Mr. McIlroy is so successful.  Golf is described as 90% mental and 10% physical.  Bobby Jones, possibly the greatest golfer of all time, once said that “golf is played on a 5 inch course-the distance between your ears.”  You see, there is nothing more liberating than striping a ball deep down the middle of the fairway setting yourself up for an easy next shot into the green.  As the white ball trickles down the short grass in the fairway, there is a great sense of security and assurance.  Yet when something goes wrong and your ball ends up behind a one hundred year old oak tree seemingly wider than the ocean, panic sets in.  The great golfers are the ones who aren’t controlled by their emotions, who never are secure in their performance, that never panic when things head south.  Their only security comes in their method, not the results.   

                While reading Golf’s Sacred Journey by David L Cook, I realized why I love golf so much and how awesome of a sport it truly is.  Living out faith in Christ Jesus, and a round of golf are similar in certain ways.  If you have never picked up a club to play, I encourage you too first of all!  It is fun and something you can play for almost your entire life.  Golf will teach you more about yourself than you’ll ever realize while building your character shot by shot.  If you have never truly accepted Jesus Christ into your heart, this is something you must do!  He will never leave you, and will continue the good work he starts in every one of us our entire lives.  God will teach you more about yourself than you know, because he is your creator.  Day by day he will renew us and grant us mercies to take on the day.  Ask him into your heart today and to change you!

Every round of Golf starts with a fresh start.  You sit at even par in hopes to minimize mistakes and to score well by the end of the round.  Each day you wake up, you start at even par as well!  As a Christian we must remember that each day is a chance to start over.  The Lord’s mercies are made new each and every day.  Dwelling on past sins, and mistakes involves zero belief in what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross.  Instead, we must accept his forgiveness, believe we are saved by what he has done for us, and ask him to turn us from those sins then trust that he will complete the work he has started in you.  Same goes for Golf.  If all you are thinking about at the beginning of your round is how poorly you hit your driver off the tee the past two rounds and that cut slice deep into the woods you had on the first hole last time, your mind isn’t in the right place.  In life, the right place for our minds to be is steadily resting on the Lord as it says in Isaiah 26:3.  This keep our minds in PERFECT peace.  Not temporary, conditional peace based off of performance or results but unconditional peace in our loving savior!  Seriously, this means that when our minds are resting in Christ literally nothing that happens can take away the peace that he gives to us.  Similarly in Golf, the right place for our minds to be isn’t on the outcome or the effects but the method.  Mistakes are made and unfortunate things happen, but if the golfer isn’t solely trusting in the result but rather putting their trust in the truth of the process they will stay at peace.

Funny story.  I play golf and have many odd experiences with the game, but one stands out in particular and kind of relates into the whole concept of things happening in life we don’t have any control over.  I was playing with a friend and my ball was to the right of the green about twenty yards or so on the opposite side of the cart path.  If you’ve ever played with me, you know I have an absolute atrocious slice so seldom am I on the left side of the course.  Anyway, about thirty to forty feet up in the air lay a single wire with the diameter the size of a water bottle cap.  Seriously, the thing was barely even visible, and I have no clue what purpose the wire served, but it was there regardless.  Unaware of the wire, I took a short swing lofting the ball high up into the air directly on line with the hole.  To this day I believe that shot would have gone in the cup if not for the wire clipping my golf ball’s flight sending it directly down into the cart path, launching it down the asphalt about 75 yards or so.  It was infuriating, yet hilarious.

The calmness and serenity Golf requires in order to be successful, is granted to us by Christ so that we can live for him.  The Lord says he gives those who believe in him peace, not as the world gives but as HE gives.  The peace that can’t be taken away, ever.  After all, one of his many names is Prince of Peace.  True peace, is only found in the resurrected savior.  The main difference between Golf and the Christian life is that at the end of one waits a finite score, but at the other waits eternal life with our creator.  Where does your peace come from?