Today we are going to live, live? Oh I like that. I usually say we're going to take, but no, today
we are going to live in a posture of peace by being astonished.
Posture is a short audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything.
Together we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture of perfect peace.
Jeremiah 32 verse 17, and I'm going to read it just as it is written because there are a lot
of exclamation marks in this scripture, okay? Get ready for it. Ah, Lord God, you have made the
heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arms. Nothing is too hard for
you. Here's what I love. Here's what I love about this scripture. I love Jeremiah's absolute
astonishment when he realizes who God is. I want to live here. I want to live in astonishment of
who my God is. I want to live so constantly aware of his presence in my life that I am constantly
overwhelmed by his goodness, no matter what is happening around me. Here's what I've discovered.
I've been practicing this, by the way, living in this delight, in this awe, in this astonishment,
and here's what I've discovered in practicing living in astonishment. When you are overwhelmed
by who God is, you cannot be overwhelmed by anything else. When you are overwhelmed by who
God is, there is no room to be overwhelmed by anything else. And now I know there is so much
happening in the world right now. There has always been a lot happening in the world. It's a
big world with a long history that doesn't negate what's happening presently in our world,
but with the power of technology and the constant communication and connection to each other,
we are exposed to so much that is happening in the world all the time, anytime, and it can be
overwhelming. And if we are not aware, if all of our awe and astonishment and reverence gets spent
and poured out at the feet of this world's brokenness, we will have no worship left for the
feet of King Jesus. He is worthy of our astonishment and praise. He is worthy of our awe
and attention. He is worthy of our focus and our attitude and our thoughts and our emotions.
When our worship, when our astonishment, when our overwhelm is secure in him,
we operate differently. We live differently. We show up in this world differently.
In 2 Corinthians 13 5, Paul asks the Corinthians, do you not realize about yourselves that Jesus
Christ is in you? Galatians 2 20, Colossians 1 27, there are so many scriptures that confirm this
truth. God lives in victory and God lives in us and we live in God. So we live in victory
in every circumstance, in every trial, at every point in history. God's sons and daughters live
in victory. We don't live average lives. We don't live powerless lives. We don't live
susceptible lives. We don't live defeated lives. We live victorious lives. Now you might be thinking,
Lindsay, are you saying that I'm just supposed to ignore all the pain that is suffering
and the pain and the suffering that is happening to me or that is happening around me right now
that seems very insensitive? No, I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that you face
that pain and suffering. You get in the middle of it. You enter into it with an awareness that
you have victory over it because victorious Jesus is living in you. If it's happening to you,
it is happening to him. That's how close, that's how one you are with him. Let that astonish you
today. Be overwhelmed by his absolute goodness. You're not alone. We're not alone. We haven't
been left alone here. If it's happening to us, it's happening to him. He is aware,
so we can remain aware of who he is. Nothing is too hard for him, so nothing is too hard for you.
Let that sink in. Let that truth dictate your next move, whether it be in conflict, in grief,
in pain, in suffering. Know who he is and know who you are becoming in him.
I want to read an astonishing scripture from Romans 8, okay? Romans 8 chapter,
I'm sorry, Romans chapter 8, let's see, it is verse
18, and I'm going to read through 21, okay?
Just let this sink in.
It says, I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that
will be revealed in us.
For the creation waits in eager expectation, some translation says, with eager longing
for the revealing of the children of God.
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the one who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage of decay
and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
Do you want to change the world?
I know I do.
I don't want the world to stay where it is.
The world needs to be changed, but the world, according to Romans 8, is not longing for
different results.
It's longing for a revealing.
Creation is waiting with eager expectation for the glory in us to be revealed.
When we, you and I, the children of God, become aware of who is living in us, we live astonished,
amazed, overwhelmed with Him, and the life in us will be revealed to the world around us.