Peace Be With You

John 14:27  I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.  

This past weekend I had the pleasure of seeing Joyce Meyer in Hershey, PA.  It was a great trip, filled with family, dear friends, wonderful teaching, perfect weather....a refreshing few days to connect with each other and the Lord in new ways.  We were blessed to see the play Jonah at the Sight and Sound theater, do some sightseeing and maybe (just maybe) a bit too much eating of all the yummy baked goods a trip to Amish county serves up.

Friday night started out with Joyce teaching on forgiveness.  And I learned so much, not just about forgiveness, but about being at peace.  Peace with myself and others.  The overall lesson was great, but it was a couple of "one-liners" that really resonated in my heart.  One was "Make peace with yourself."  And the other was "Don't be mad at yourself or against yourself."

Wow, those two little lines struck deep within my soul. These were my God visit, loud and clear.  I can be so down on myself. Just when I think I am getting this message, I fall right back into the same trap of self criticism.  Even as I was getting my coffee to settle down with this blog, I was spilling it all over the saucer...making a mess a usual (lol).  And as I was doing this the same old words came up, "I can't do anything right."  "I'm such a mess."  And then I sat down to share this story, conviction rising up in my spirit.  

If Christ died to bring peace between God and man, doesn't stand to reason that He would want us to be a peace with ourselves?  Matthew 22:37-40  Jesus replied, "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment..  A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments."  God expects us to love ourselves.  He loves us. It's almost as if we can't truly love others until we love and accept ourselves.

Romans 8:31  What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?  God is for me.  God is for you.  Why do we think it's okay, or even noble to be against ourselves?  False humility?  Past hurts?  Fault focused?  Other's opinions?   Whatever the reason, God is greater.  And He is always on our side!

Lord, I confess this stubborn, deep rooted resistance to loving myself, Your creation, the one You died to save.  Forgive me for lessening the value of Your sacrifice by being down on myself.  I am your beautiful creation, flaws and all.  I am loved by You.  Thank You.  Let me enjoy the me You made while I cooperate with the Holy Spirit to grow in You.  I will be at peace with myself.  I pray for others who struggle with the same battle, the same tendencies.  Deliver us from the snare of self pity, self doubt, self worthlessness, self, self, self.  May we be at peace with ourselves so that we can be at peace with others.   Let us walk in agreement with You, not in a proud, haughty way, but with the confidence that comes with being  loved and saved by You.  We are Your masterpieces.

Make peace with yourself today.