Shaping us into peacemakers

Dr Iain Jamieson June 12, 2022 0 0

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Romans 5: 1-5 (NRSVA)

1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

I guess sometimes the battles we fight in our lives can be brutal and cruel. We can end up washed up on the shore like a survivor from the shipwreck of our experience. It can be really easy to feel cold and small and all alone.

You can end up with that “look” on your face – the thousand yard stare – haunted.

Here’s the thing though – you survived, you’re still breathing. The noise and clamour, the explosions and shrapnel are spent. You might be wounded and you may have lost more than you think you can ever get back.

But stop. It's silent here, here in this moment you’ve taken to read these words. The war is spent and you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

You have peace.

Let that sit awhile. After the war there is peace, peace with God, so be at peace with yourself. The next minute, the next hour, the next few days are opportunities, the potential for change and the potential for growth. Everything made new by the God that made you. Remember this. Nothing is ever wasted, nothing, no matter how messed up, no matter how dreadful. God’s Holy Spirit can pour into our personal wasteland and fill it up with good things, new things, new growth, and new horizons.

Be justified through faith.

Your recovery will bless you as much as it will bless others as you move on.

PRAYER:

Lord the explosion happened. It tore me to bits.

As I lie here wounded.

Let me heal.

Refashion my scars into a story of redemption and power.

Let me wear them with grace and pride as an example of your healing love.