Today we are going to take a posture of peace by believing big.
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.
Okay so I'm taking us right back to Isaiah 43 because I just can't get enough
of this treasure of a chapter. Going back to verses one and two, if you remember from our
last episode in verse one the Lord says here, fear not for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name. You are mine. Now I'm not even really planning on talking about this
but I can't not say it. Isn't it such a cool thought that when the Lord calls you by your
name, he's not calling you failure, he's not calling you lost cause, he's not calling you
anxious or depressed or broken or disappointment. He calls you mine. That is your name to him.
That is a powerful, powerful truth. And then in verse two, the Lord says when you pass through
the waters, I will be with you. And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you.
And I just want to read one quick other scripture here. We've been here before,
Colossians three. Oh, Colossians three. Colossians three verses one through three says,
if then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated
at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,
for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. So all this week we've been
talking about a lens change, no longer viewing God through the lens of self or the lens of our
circumstances, but choosing to view ourselves and our circumstances through the lens of him.
And you know, one thing I know about our posture community is we are a people of great faith.
So I've talked about in past episodes this week, how this lens change has affected really
everything the way I read scripture. And I talked about how it's changed the way I pray. So I
thought I would end the week by sharing how this lens change has affected my believing. Because,
you know, right now our newsfeeds I know are filled with what people think about the state
of the world, but what actually has great effect in both this realm and in the spiritual realm
is what we believe about who God is and the state of his kingdom. So before I had this lens change,
before I began to practice taking on this new lens, I used to limit my belief to just trying
to have enough faith to cover my circumstances. And it reduced God in my eyes to just being enough
to bring me some relief and resolve from the negative things happening to me and around me.
But Ephesians 3.20 says, you know, God is able to do far more abundantly than all we could ask
or think. So here's what I'm practicing now. Instead of just making my believing as big as
my circumstances are, I am making my believing as big as God is. My beliefs are not set in what I'm
currently facing and what's currently happening in our world, but in who my God has promised me
through his word, who he would eternally be. Instead of looking at a year like 2020 and,
and asking, you know, what is this and why is this happening? And being solely focused on
those questions and, you know, allowing my faith to be formed by whatever answers my
limited understanding can produce. I'm asking and seeking, Lord, who are you in all of this?
And this shift it's taken me beyond the limited realm of my own understanding about the state
of the world. And it's placed me in a deep abiding trust in the Lord, which if you remember our
past
foundational verse, Isaiah 26 3, that kind of trust keeps me in perfect peace.
So going back to Isaiah 43, the Lord says, when you pass through the waters, I will
be with you. God is not found on the other side of our circumstances. He's not
found on the other side of right decisions and good behavior. He's not waiting on the other
side of a nation getting its act together. He's right here in the middle of it all with us,
our circumstances, our learning, our development, our low places. He never leaves us or forsakes
us. This is who he is and seeking him doesn't make him show up. It makes us more aware of this
truth. And just to be clear, I'm not preaching passivity, okay? God does not plant you somewhere
for you to just sit on your hands and wait for the end of the world. You are called and equipped
to be more than a conqueror in your nation, in your community, in your spheres of influence.
So be active and be engaged, but don't be limited. Don't reduce God in your eyes
to be just as big as your circumstance. Practice this today. Make your believing as big as he is.
In a year like 2020, based on who I know the Lord to be, here's what I believe God is doing.
I believe he is inviting his people to have a greater awareness of the security and rest to
be had when we journey with him. He is a big God who has promised big things, and he is the only
God, the only savior. Therefore his word, his nature is the only thing we can without a shadow
of a doubt rely on in every circumstance, in every year. The promise of perfect peace is found
in Isaiah 26.3. In Hebrew, it is shalom, shalom, meaning complete wholeness, nothing missing,
nothing broken. This is who you are in Jesus because of Jesus. You are a living testimony
of Jesus's ultimate win. With every step you take today,
you're putting Jesus's victory on display and Satan's defeat on replay.