As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
Delivered By C.H. Spurgeon on Lord’s-Day Morning, October 27, 1889 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
“I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly.” Psalm 85:8.
“None of us like having the very ground shift under our feet. Our day-to-day life, perhaps a way of life that we have had for years, has in a matter of months been completely turned upside down. How do we, as God’s people, react to such uncertainty? In the midst of fear and frustration, how can we exhibit to the world people who are fundamentally different?” - James Williams
“I devoured this 117-page jewel three times in preparation for writing this review. With each journey through, my appreciation increased for its contribution to helping readers aim high for the blessedness of being called a peacemaker (Matt. 5:9).” - TGC
“There is so much that we don’t understand. There is so much that we are incapable of understanding. So rest is found in trusting the Father. He is not confused, and he surely does have your best interest in mind. Yes, he will ask you to do hard things and he will bring difficult things your way, but he is worthy of your trust and he loves you dearly.” - Paul David Tripp
The gospel according to Luke records that on the night of Jesus’ birth an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in a field outside the Judean village of Bethlehem. The angel announced “good news of great joy” which included the benediction: “Peace on earth” (Luke 2:10, 14).
“Over the past few months I’ve tried a little experiment to limit interruptions and distractions. I keep my phone on the Do Not Disturb setting DND all the time. Wait! What? That’s madness! How do you survive?” - Jonathan Smith
“Modernity has brought many blessings, but…. In a culture that so fervently strives after performance and hustle at the cost of all else, could it be that we may simply need more silence and more slowness?” - Acton
The gospel according to Luke records that on the night of Jesus’ birth an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in a field outside the Judean village of Bethlehem. The angel announced “good news of great joy” which included the benediction: “Peace on earth” (Luke 2:10, 14).
Peace had come to earth in a person. The “Prince of Peace,” prophesied centuries earlier by the prophet Isaiah had come (Isaiah 9:6). In a mystery never to be fully fathomed, the “Mighty God” and “Everlasting Father” was born a child with flesh and blood to dwell on earth for a season (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; John 1:14). And as the Bible repeatedly demonstrates, whenever the living God comes to dwell among his people, he always brings peace.
But what is peace? The word is not difficult to define. Peace is the calm that prevails in the absence of war. It is the serenity that marks freedom from hostilities, strife or dissension. Peace is a paucity of agitation, upheaval or chaos. Although used in an array of contexts, the definition is fairly straightforward.
There are basically two ways to ride a roller coaster. The first is to resist the ride. You can press your feet against the floorboard and arch your back. You can grip the handle bar so hard your knuckles turn white. You can tense your jaw, tighten your abdominal muscles, and scream bloody murder as you descend the precipitous drops and are flung around the death-defying turns.
Somewhere in my rather limited experience of roller coasters, I discovered a second approach. You can actually relax on a roller coaster. Really! You can loosen your grip on the bar, relax your jaw, legs and abdominal muscles. In fact, you can take a roller coaster ride in the same physical condition and mental state of a couch potato.
Obviously, your physical state will have no influence on the roller coaster. No matter how tense or relaxed you may be, the roller coaster will not alter its route one inch or adjust its speed one iota. Either way, you will be delivered to the platform on time and in one piece. You cannot control the ride, you can only control the rider.
There are seasons in life where you learn to just hang on for the ride. My family’s in one of them now.
For several weeks, we’ve been in the middle of preparing for an interstate move (with husband there and me here), trying to find the “perfect” house (which apparently doesn’t exist), finishing all the end of school year activities for two kids, and trying to occasionally write interesting blog posts (although at this point I’d settle for adequate). And through it all, the one major take away has been learning that human beings were not intended to subsist on six hours of sleep a night, diet coke, and chocolate.
I confess I’m pretty much an idealist. In my world, if I want something badly enough, if I work hard enough, and if I just commit to making sure it happens, it will. Food, sleep, rest? What are those? They’re simply props for the weak. And yet, what I’m discovering—once again even after several decades on this planet—is my own weakness. I’m learning about my inability to do it all, how quickly stress affects every part of me and my tendency to be really mean when I’m overwhelmed.
But thankfully, this week I re-learned something even more important.
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