In just over three months, I am getting married to the sweetest man on the planet. This man accepts me for who I am and loves me totally and completely, flaws and all. He appreciates both the crazy goofy side of me and jumps in the fun, but also takes the time to hear the serious and private matters close to my heart. His love feels like a warm, cozy blanket and I feel at home with him. His love closely resembles the love of God towards me and it’s so beautiful. I know he will read this, so a quick shout out: I love you Chris!
As a part of the getting ready to be married process, we are required to take pre-marital counseling. We are nearly done with that aspect of things and it has been great! We have learned a lot about each other and come away with many valuable insights. One thing that our counselor has come back to numerous times is that as a couple it is pivotal that we pursue the power of agreement. Following that, we must know that as we navigate the process of pursuing agreement, peace is the umpire. Our goal should be to make decisions and to settle disagreements in a way that will unify us and bring us back to a place of peace in our relationship.
I got to thinking how much this same principle applies in our relationship with God. Our primary goal in life should be agreement with God. We should agree with His Word. We should agree with what He says about our identity. We should agree with His promises and with the hope He has given us for our future.
It is when we find ourselves yearning for control, falling out of intimacy with our creator and making agreements with things God never said that we find ourselves spiraling into fear, worry, insecurity and a host of other issues. As we navigate this journey our emotions serve as helpful signal lights along the way. Are we feeling frustrated? Angry? Sad? Exhausted? These are signals that let us know that somewhere we have fallen out of agreement with Jesus.
When we find ourselves in this place, the words Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7 provide us with a powerful antidote:
Don’t worry about anything: instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
We can arrive back at the place of peace by communicating with our loving Father in Heaven. Let him know what’s on your mind and on your heart. Ask Him to remind you what His word has to say about you and your circumstances. Thank Him for all He has done in your life and choose to agree that He will continue to be faithful to you, to provide for you and to care for you.
When we do this, we will come back to the place of peace once again. It’s a peace we can’t understand, but we don’t need to. That peace will guard our hearts and minds and lead us forward.
