Finding peace when there is no peace...

Today as I went for a walk/jog, I asked God to help me to order my mind in prayer.  A new diagnosis and the promise of painful procedures is likely enough to unsettle any of us in mind and spirit, and i have definitely been unsettled.

Many years ago I read Spurgeon on Order and Argument in Prayer, which changed my prayer life.  And I knew I needed to order my case.  So, as I jogged along, ordering, and asking God to help me do so.  Well, I still have lots of ordering to do, but here is part of how my ordering went:

• God promises His children peace in their struggles.
• I have not had peace, nor am I able to stir up peace on my own: that has to be a gift of God.
• I have claimed before the entire world that I would have peace because God would give it to me.
• Therefore, since God promises it to me as His child, and since I should not shame Him before the world, I beg Him to fulfill His promise, and vindicate Himself by giving me peace.

Now, I'm NOT trying to back God into some logical corner to force Him to act.  No, instead, I am dwelling on God's promises, and realizing they are the stuff of my existence.  They are real, and substantive.  I MUST have peace, because God promised it. You see, ordering my argument before God does not make Him love me more, nor oblige Him to act in a particular way.  Instead, it changes MY focus, and reminds me that I am totally secure in the strong and mighty arms of the God who promises me peace, and He never breaks a promise. 

So when I pray, I remind God of His promise, and wait in sure hope for Him to fulfill it. And that, Gentle Reader, is at least the beginning of peace.