What God says

One way I study God's word is to look up what the original 'meaning' of words are and then ask God to guide me into putting the passage I have studied into more 'current' verbage while keeping the meaning God intended from when it was written in the first place. (For anyone interested in reading more click on 'paraphrases' link at the side.)

I have been studying Psalm 71 for a little while recently. This morning I reread what I had written. As I went over my paraphrase I couldn't help 'relate' it very much to what has just been happening in my life. All of Psalm 71 paraphrase has been posted at the link but here are a few verses that have meant a lot to me at this time.

1 Lord, I choose to trust in You completely, so please don’t disappoint me.
. . .
Your plans are to make me victorious since You are my refuge and defense. 4 Bring me into a secure place, O Mighty God, away from the violence of those who are hostile to You and take me out from under the authority of unjust, bitter and oppressive people. 5 God, I reverently expect You to do what is best for me, like a child trusting a loving parent.

. . .
14 – 16 But as for me, God, I choose to keep trusting You, singing about You and telling others of Your right ways. I don’t know how much longer I’ll live but as long as You keep me alive, I will live close to You and remind others how right Your ways are.

. . .

23-24 I will shout out loud for JOY, and I will rejoice in my heart as well as quietly tell others how You have set me free. Those who obnoxiously planned to hurt me (because they were out of control with anger) are astonished, disappointed and dishonored.

God has been not only 'revealing' as mentioned in the previous post, but He has also been mentoring me. He is eager for me to 'grow up' (by His love). I keep praising Him for that. Sometimes I have defined 'peace' as a lack of 'stress' or even a lack of intensity of experience. That is at times nice, but I am coming to also believe that the kind of 'peace' God is speaking about when He says "Great peace have they which love Thy law and nothing shall offend them" can also include the experience of realizing that God loves me so much I can trust Him no matter what is 'happening'.

What happens to me or around me I have, at least at times, considered 'offensive'.

However, according to the above, when I experience God's kind of love flowing into my own life, and I choose to allow God's love to flow through me to others in God's ways, (which is the essence of God's law: love Him supreme and love others as one's self) God gives me GREAT peace. God also enables me to 'let go' of what may have offended me in the past - "nothing shall offend them" - which brings God's kind of peace - the kind that doesn't take offense.

May God's kind of peace be yours

Bringer of Peace