Peace Understanding – Part 2
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of January 17, 2021
Hebrews 12:1 TPT says, "As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So, we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us.
Friends, it’s time to throw off every hindrance from our powerful path of peace.
It’s time to give every wound to Jesus and hand over every limitation in our lives. It’s time to invite Him to heal our hearts, so we don’t perpetuate cycles of pain inwardly or outwardly.
It’s time to run as the overcomers He made us to be, because it’s time for our Jabez prayers to manifest. It’s time to see the goodness of God in His expanse for us.
"Oh, that you would bless me," Jabez prayed, "and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain" (1 Chron 4:10 NIV).
Friends, it’s time to be awed.
It’s time to be lifted above what once held us back and step into God’s beautiful and lofty place, as He continues to make us authentic, like Jacob.
"Let the king be enthralled by your beauty," Psalm 45:11 NIV tells us, "honor him, for he is your lord."
Friends, it’s time for action.
Two questions we can ask ourselves and God to gain His truth and understanding are:
- What am I under, meaning what am I submitted to?
- And how am I standing?
In other words, am I submitted unto The Lord God Almighty, operating in His character and ways? Submission is important because it’s the only way we will be able to finish our race victoriously (Mark 8:34).
Isaiah 26:3 AMPC says, "You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You."
So, a few weeks ago, the Holy Spirit highlighted condemnation to me as a hindrance to our strength of peace.
He brought to mind the forgiven adulteress in John 8 and led me to take a deeper look.
Holy Spirit revealed to me that hopelessness had taken root in this woman’s heart, which caused an inward attitude of condemnation that she projected and acted on outwardly. This lie of hopelessness in her heart perpetuated cycles of condemnation in her life.
It was a trap for this woman and for Jesus (Pro 1:17-19 TPT).
Friends, we cannot have peace if we don't have hope, because hope is an anchor and a stabilizer that sets us on our Lord’s path of peace (Heb 6:19).
In this woman’s case, Jesus, the Prince of Peace, stood for truth and met her where she was to set her free, right in front of her accusers. The accusers (who were aligned with the devil) judged her outward appearance and distanced themselves from Jesus as He brought conviction to their consciences (1 Sam 16:7, Jn 8:9).
The accusers couldn’t stand because they didn’t operate under Jesus’ strength of truth and peace.
Instead, that gang operated under gossip, not Gospel; and covert collusion, not divine collaboration. They weren't aligned with the compassionate heart of Jesus, and they didn't want to be.
This is why we have to go deep with God—so we can escape evil and run the distance with Jesus. We must go all the way to promises fulfilled and not stop in the desert of our souls.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 TPT reveals that every Word from God "has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you."
There are key pinnacles of victory, in the various facets of our lives, that is set before us in this fitting time. As Holy Spirit delivers us out of cycles of darkness.
To the extent that we let our Lord reign in our lives is the extent that He will prosper us. It’s not so much of a reward for enduring hardship as it is about the deliverance from hindrances during the hardship that frees us up, so God can shine in and through us most brightly (Jn 1:5, 8:12 AMPC).
God is our only hope to conquer our mountain of flesh and the enemy’s lies.
He is the Lord of the breakthrough that enables us to conquer enemies that work through our flesh, such as the sins of condemnation and false judgment that we see the gossip gang project in John 8 (2 Sam 5:20, Isa 28:21 TPT study note).
John 8:8 TPT says, "And then he bent over again and wrote some more words in the dust."
Just like for the forgiven woman, the powerful and true Words of Jesus sets us free on a path of peace.
This is good news, especially for those of us who walked through the training of divine discipline to live in greater holiness and experience the harvest of the "peaceable fruit of righteousness" (Heb 12:11).
Jesus changed the forgiven woman’s atmosphere, environment, and life.
When Jesus said, "Dear woman, where are your accusers? Is there no one here to condemn you?" He spoke that shift (of attitude) into being. He revealed fresh vision to her.
When Jesus said, "…I certainly don’t condemn you either. Go, and from now on, be free from a life of sin," He re-set her on a path of new life (Jn 8:11 TPT, Ro 8:11).
For this forgiven woman, it was time to walk out her salvation, "time to be made new by every revelation" that was given to her (Eph 4:23 TPT).
It was time to walk deeper into her divine destiny.
If you’ve been living your life under condemnation, it’s time for a pivot of deliverance and true intimacy.
It’s time for clear vision and direction.
It’s time for a path of peace.
It’s time for manifest victory.
Remember Romans 10:11 AMPC, which says, "…No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.
If you’re ready, pray with me if you will…
Dear Lord,
Thank You for Your destiny plan for me. I confess, as sin, having operated in any and all hopelessness and condemnation. I renounce this disobedient behavior and every spirit that’s not of You. I forgive others and myself for any and all imposition. I receive Your forgiveness offered to me by the finished work of the cross. I invite You to uproot any and all hopelessness in my heart and restore my true foundation of hope. I receive Your new path of life for me. I choose to follow You as my faithful glory cloud by day and my fire by night, leading me out of all darkness into the fulfillment of Your promises to me. Open my eyes, Lord, to see Your goodness as You make my path straight, merciful, and peaceful (1 Pet 1:3-5 TPT). Help me to know my worth through Your eyes. Thank You for Your grace of redemption. Thank You for working out my salvation.
In Jesus’ Mighty Name,
Amen.
Friends, as we close, remember Mark 8:34 TPT, where Jesus tells us how to remain in His light. He says, "...If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways."
To God be the glory.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
