Tag Archives: Peace

Peace, Joy, and Strength

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Week 2 of my Summer of Growth challenge and we’re to point 2 of John Piper’s Challenge to Women:

“That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.”

I’ll take this in pieces. “That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that…

1. “…peace…fill[s] your soul to overflowing.”

Would I characterize my life as being filled with peace?

Yes and no. I don’t fret about the big things: death or the after life. It’s just the little things.

I think I’ve grown in the area of worry, but it’s all too easy to fall into it. I know it’s when I’m focusing too much on those little things, so they seem really big.

I frequently sing the hymn “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” to myself:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

2. “…joy…fill[s] your soul to overflowing.”

I think this is an area that I’ve been lacking in lately. My life over the last few months could not be characterized by joy. Ho-hum would be a better term. I’ve allowed my relationship with Christ to become more of a duty and less of a joy. And for that, I do God a disservice. Reading the Bible, prayer, and worship aren’t items to simply be checked off of a list.

3. “…strength fill[s] your soul to overflowing.”

If God’s strength had not filled me during those weeks in April, I wouldn’t have made it. It might sound melodramatic, but I fully believe that without God’s help, I would have struggled more emotionally (that may have exacerbated my physical problems).

But how much more would I know of God’s strength if I was more closely walking with Him?

The truths in the Bible are powerful. But I have to know them and remind myself of them frequently through consistent Bible reading and study…

Why I Love the Olympics

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There’s just something special about the Olympics, isn’t there?

My love of the Olympics is two-fold.  First, I simply enjoy watching sports.  I think it brings out the competitive side of me.  While I obviously have a preference of what sports I watch (college football, college basketball, PGA majors…in that order), I can watch almost anything and enjoy it.  The only known exception is soccer…blech.

As far as Olympics sports go, I’m pretty predictable.  My favorite winter sport is figure skating, and my favorite summer sports are gymnastics and swimming (probably because I know how fast they’re swimming).

But really, the second reason is what I want to talk about.  It’s the global aspect of it: people from all countries (except for our warm-loving friends for the Winter Olympics) come together for one cause.  Of course, we need to remember that world peace isn’t possible on our own terms.  But there is something special about people from different peoples coming together…reminds me of what heaven will look like.

Now THAT’ll be a place of world peace.

Photo by Dieter Drescher

The Olympics and World Peace

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I know, I know, I’m bringing up the Olympics again today. It’s just that I watched a lot of Olympic coverage yesterday. Did you see the men’s 4 x 100 free relay yesterday? Incredible! I haven’t cheered that loud since KU won the national championship. I think I could swim 100 meters in 2 minutes at best on a good day, but Jason Lezak did it in 46 seconds. Not only have I been watching the Olympics, but I’ve also been following the growing crisis in Georgia. I can’t help but compare the two.

The modern Olympics were started to allow countries from all over to come together for sports, even if they can’t come together for any other purpose. The idea of world unity and peace can be seen throughout the Olympic games. Athletes from nations that are not particularly friendly with one another compete side-by-side for the same medals. But Russia’s continuing assault on its former territory, Georgia, is a fresh reminder that this world isn’t at peace. Neither sports nor any other cause, no matter how noble, will be able to bring us together in true harmony.

As much as you or I might like it, world peace isn’t actually humanly attainable in this fallen world. History confirms this. Competing selfish interests will continue to fuel countries to war against each other. What is needed for world peace is not a sporting event, but the Gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. Only through the working of God is there any hope for unity among the nations.