“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
John 14:27
God’s encouragement…
Jesus allowed me to experience this truth about His peace two years after Tom and I found our first church home. The stage was set when my freelance contract, which had been in effect for the two prior years, was completed at the end of December. On top of that, Tom’s company had closed its doors two months earlier. We decided to delay starting our job searches until after the holidays which meant that, as of January 1st, our savings account would be our financial lifeboat.
We jumped into our searches with enthusiasm just after the first of the year. However, after a month and a half, I found myself discouraged and afraid that no one would hire me. It was proving to be harder than we anticipated and no amount of positive thinking or trying harder was easing my growing panic.
With a hope in our hearts that a break from the research, letter writing, calls and interviews would lift our spirits, we headed out for a winter hike. Several miles in, after climbing up the steepest portion of the trail, a sense of peace came over me. I felt the storm clouds in my heart part and His sunshine warm me! In that moment I became calm and knew everything would be okay. I didn’t know how this would happen, but God assured me we’d be fine.
It took a while before we both secured full time employment. Tom found his new position first with mine coming two months later. As the search process continued, I was at peace. I trusted the assurance He gave me that day. The peace endured throughout the ups and downs, twists and turns, disappointments and delays, because it was a gift from Jesus, completely separate from anything I could muster up on my own.
To assemble a list to link to other posts from a category, click the category tag at the top of the page, or visit the Posts page.
To learn more about my journey with God, visit these pages: Robin’s Journey for an overview | my first season: Baptized and Taught | my second season: Loss & Lost | my third season: Pursued & Awakened | my fourth season: Welcomed & Transforming | my fifth season: Proclaiming
Click the arrow → to access an online English Standard Version Bible.
Image: photo taken by Robin on the Parmalee Trail at Mt. Falcon/Jefferson County Open Space, Morrison, Colorado
