Peace/Remembering/Perseverance

Peace is not the absence of something, but the presence of someone

It is a person!

Prayerlessness creates a battle that I sometimes didn't need to have

Pray lead us not into temptation

Philippians 4:5–10 “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

Remembering What God has done

Name Drop

Genesis 16:6–13 “But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.””

God sees me

A servant girl who was not even a part of the story, God sees her

We all have desire to be seen and heard

He called her by name

She revealed an attribute of God that even His people didn't know

God knows everything

God Knew what was going on already.

He addressed her as “servant of Sarai”...He knew her position, He ordained it

God Knew more about her/my situation than I do

He has the plan

ex: The Smartian woman (Jesus already knew)

He knows more about my story than I do

God is working on your situation and in your situation

We miss alot of things with our eyes/Understanding

He is working on our story

Hagar’s story (she thought) was over...but He is faithful

God is greater than what you are in (what you are going through)

2 Corinthians 4:7–9 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;”

God will use your current situation, in your futurer story for His Glory

He never promised to explain everything that is happening to me (but he did promise to use everything for the good of thoes who love him)

HE NEVER STOPS WORKING

NOW IMAGINE KNOWING THIS AND GOING THROUGH WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH...Doesnt it bring you peace?!

Peace is a person, not state of mind

The thing is, the journey doesn’t always look like that. God doesn’t always intervene when we’re going down the wrong road. Sometimes, He does. But many times, He gives us the choice of which way to go. Under the pressure and the persecution, will you run away or will you run to God?