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Today, we're going to take on a posture of peace by ministering to peace himself.

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Hi, I'm Lindsay Van Zale. Posture is a podcast that serves as a short audible fist bump to remind

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you that God is in everything. Together, we're going to be emboldened to take a daily posture

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of perfect peace. Psalm chapter 91 verses 1 and 2 says this,

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He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

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I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.

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All this week, we have been focusing on God being our victorious warrior king. We serve a God who

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has never lost a battle, and we, his people, are warriors who carry his victory into our everyday

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lives. And as I was reading Psalm 91, I was reminded that every warrior needs a fortress.

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So many people make their fortresses out of, you know, finances, or job performance,

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or their earthly relationships, or perhaps their material possessions. And yet we,

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God's people, have been invited to make him our secure fortress, which is good news,

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especially in a time right now where all those other fortresses are crumbling. We remain in a

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fortress that is always standing. And so today, I felt prompted to share with you guys a scene

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from my fortress, from my secret place with the Lord. I wanted to share a way that I've been

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engaging with the Lord, especially in the season. And the revelation for this came actually from my

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relationship with my two nieces. I have two nieces who are both at the ages where their avid

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curiosity keeps them constantly on the move. You know, their days are filled with exploring and

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discovering, asking questions, seeking answers. And they're also at an age right now where they're

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becoming more and more independent, so they're desiring less assistance with their tasks. You

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know, they want to do it all themselves. Yet every once in a while, they will walk away from their

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activities and come sit on my lap and just lean back on me to rest. And these precious moments

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are a balm to my soul. You know, they come with no agenda. It's just a few minutes to come rest

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on antlens and take a break from all the living that's still to be done. Have you ever experienced

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this wonder before, maybe with your own kids or nieces or nephews? Perhaps you've experienced it

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when your significant other, you know, rests their head on your shoulder. Or maybe when a friend has

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like grabbed your hand in a need of like quiet reassurance. And this may sound silly, but I know

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my fellow pet lovers will understand. I've even experienced this joy when my dog, you know, all 70

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pounds of him slowly creeps up on the, you know, couch he's not allowed to be on and snuggles in my

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lap. My point is this, doesn't it minister to you when you become the resting place of someone you

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love? I believe it's the same with God. Do you know that you can minister to your Prince of Peace?

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Seasons and circumstances in life often affect how we interact with peace. When we find ourselves in

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a low season, in a valley season, we want to be ministered to by peace. We want our worries washed

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away. We want the dust to quickly settle. We want the cause of all of our anxieties to just cease.

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And you know, this is actually a completely appropriate desire to have to actually pursue

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peace in this way because peace is always willing and able to minister to us. We know this because

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Jesus gave us an open invitation in Matthew 11 28 when he said, come to me all who are weary

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and burdened and I will give you rest. And then we have those mountaintop seasons where we're

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we're full of zeal and strength and we are stirred in those seasons to be ministers of peace. We want

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to resolve conflict. We want to heal hurts. We want to be a part of bringing redemption and

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restoration to a lost and broken world. And again, this is a completely appropriate desire to have

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and to pursue peace in this way because peace is always willing and able to partner with us.

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You know, Romans 10 15 says, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel

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of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.

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We want to be ministered to by peace, and we want to be ministers of peace.

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But how often do we seek to minister to peace himself?

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How often do we take time to lean back and make God our resting place?

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You know, peace is a person.

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It's the very presence of Jesus in our lives.

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And so a posture of peace is leaning on Jesus.

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In the presence of peace, everything changes.

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I have changed radically.

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You know, my questions have changed.

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I'm no longer asking things like, Lord, are you even real?

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Do you love me?

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You know, will I make it?

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Will I come through this?

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I have asked those questions, but I'm not anymore because the answer to those types

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of questions become so obvious to me when I'm in his very presence.

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You know, instead, when I'm in the secret place with him, I'm asking things like, Lord,

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who do you want to be for me in this circumstance?

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Lord, share your secret with me.

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What amazingly good thing are you turning out of this situation?

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Lord, how can I partner with you in this crisis so that you get the most glory out of it?

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It is hard to stay afraid when he shares his view with you.

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You know, it's being with him, being in that secret place where trust is forged so thick

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that only peace can get in.

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So today, let's spend time not getting to know more about Jesus, but getting to know

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him more.

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Let's take the time to minister to our Prince of Peace by leaning back and resting on him.

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The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26 3, and in Hebrew, it is shalom shalom,

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meaning complete wholeness, nothing missing, nothing broken.

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This is who you are in Jesus.

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Let's declare this together.

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Today, I am kept in perfect peace.

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With my whole heart, I trust the Lord.

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I am strong.

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I am victorious.

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I am whole.

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Remember, friend, you are a living testimony of Jesus' ultimate win, not because of anything

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you did, but because of what he did for you.

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With every step you take today, you're putting Jesus' victory on display and Satan's defeat

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on replay.