Perfect Peace

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio
(E- mail readers please click the post title so you don't miss the video.)

Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. 

" I will bless you with the peace of Jesus. Jesus gave his peace to the disciples before he left them. Spirit, I bless you with the peace of Jesus which is beyond what the world gives. I bless you with the peace he had of being at the right place at the right time, living with urgency of his purpose within himself without being overwhelmed by that urgency, because he knew his Father's time was right. I bless you with being peaceful because you know ahead of time that your Father God will partner with you to provide adequacy for each day, whether a day with pain or pleasure. I bless you in the name of Jesus, who wants you to be in step with him." ~ Arthur Burk & Sylvia Gunter

I have a strong sense that this is for someone that the Lord will bring here to read this. Maybe for more than someone, perhaps for for many. I say that to say that I feel very strongly lead to talk about the perfect peace that Jesus wants to give you. It does not necessarily mean that the problem you are facing will just "poof" vanish. I have found that most often I have had to face problems in turning with them to Jesus, he helps me to solve or even turn them into blessings.

Last night I rolled up 200 little blessing scrolls for a new Prayer Loft Nautical Theme that I am working on. I want to share with you a story of God giving me his peace just this week. On Tuesday morning I had awoken having had dreams that troubled me. I was driving my son to work and silently praying. Lord help me I can't get these thoughts out of my head. I don't understand why the past can still in a sense haunt me. I thought well perhaps it's just an attack of the enemy. I knew my brain would just keep trying to figure it out, and to endlessly try to make sense of it. I also knew I sensed the Lord's direction to just let it go. I knew I was struggling and I asked the Lord to come into my day and help me. I had no clue how he might do that.

These are not yet done and still have boats, compass, a light house to add

Having taken my son to work I headed to the church for staff meeting. One staff member was on vacation so it was just the pastor and myself. We talked about the previous service and the stuff I would need to get done for the next one. Then we went on to talking about the Nautical idea that I had been working on as a minor change to the prayer loft. Using the word P.R.A.Y.

The Prayer Loft in process - still messy.

He liked my idea and we talked back and forth about the things that could be communicated through a nautical theme. He tossed out an idea of having big sails coming out of the walls, to give the feeling of a big ship. Suddenly the little project in my mind, expanded. I have to say that all my troubled thoughts in that instant got pushed aside. So I have spent the week and will be working like a busy bee to get it all done in time for Sunday. I will post more photos as it is completed. What I wanted to share in this devotional is how faithful God was to help me. He knew exactly how my mind works and what it would take to move me beyond my troubled thoughts to be captivated by the wonder of the gift he has given me to communicate His truths to his people through the arts.

Little Blessing Scrolls

So this project will take every spare moment to complete by Sunday. So at home last night I was working on rolling little blessing scrolls, and I cut out triangel shaped flags from colored cloth. As I was rolling the 200 scrolls I thought the last one is God's blessing for me. Here's the one I got and it is from a wonderful book that I highly recommend called Daily Spirit Blessings by Arthur Burk and Sylvia Gunter. I often will read various blessing passages out loud to myself.  Anyway so here's the one from the final scroll that I was rolling. "I bless you with the desire to solve problems. Spirit, you were designed by your Father to face problems and solve them, not just escape them. I bless you with rejoicing in each one, instead of complaining and turning back. I bless you with perseverance to dig in his Word to solve problems, as if you are looking for gold, silver and jewels. I bless you with having the mind of Christ, so you can see things from his perspective and solutions others can't see. My you have God's wisdom to embrace his solutions, even if they seem painful and nobody has ever walked that way before. I bless you in the name of the God of the impossible." ~ Arthur Burk and Sylvia Gunter

So I realize that God granted me a diversion from the troubled dreams. I also know that I probably still have some more past that is not dealt with that I will have to work through with the Lord. It will not be me with my mind in a distressed loop but I will seek the mind of Christ. Theres probably another layer that I was not aware of that he is preparing me to be ready to deal with. I've buried and locked away the past and avoided some parts of it for so long that I don't remember whats even there, till the Lord starts allowing it to surface.

All this to say that the Lord will help you if you let him. He has taken me on an incredible journey to greater and greater freedom and peace in him. He would take you if you let him. He knows the way, and he knows how much you can bear, and when you need a diversion from your own troubled thought patterns.
Prayer:
Lord, I pray that you would give your perfect peace even in the middle of the storms that may be raging around some of those who are reading this. I pray Lord that they would acknowledge that you are the God of the impossible. I pray that you would grant grace and courage to face things that must be faced in your perfect timing. Thank you that you would walk with us through our days and into the unknown that lies ahead of each of us. The way may seem dark to us but it is not dark to you.