Peace like a river
Isaiah reprimands the house of Israel for their disobedience:
If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your peace/well-being (Heb: shalom) would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:18
This reminds us of how often we’ve “missed it” with God, how often we haven’t paid attention to His commandments and so our peace hasn’t been quite the promised river but more like a trickle – or even a dry stream bed! Have we all been 100% obedient to God all of our Christian lives? Of course not! And then it’s so easy to beat ourselves up and say “well if only I had been able to crucify my stubborn selfish nature then I would have experienced more of that river of peace and well-being that God promises.”
But the truth is, our old man is dead – we’ve been crucified with Christ. (Gal 2:20). And it’s no longer I who live but Christ lives in Me! Now that changes everything!
When Adam let self rule in the garden of Eden, thus usurping the rule of God, then he condemned all future generations to constant war against sin and self. But Jesus overcame that continual losing battle for our sakes. In another garden – Gethsemane – 4000 years later the sinless Son of God prayed three times “not my will but Yours, Father”. He didn’t pray the same thing three times so that His Father would take notice, but this was the painful process of Jesus subduing his will to the Father on behalf of us all. The total defeat of Jesus’ self will was so painful that Jesus sweated drops of blood. In that garden Jesus won back the complete obedience and submission that Adam lost in the first garden.
Now, because we are IN CHRIST we too can claim that defeat of sinful self. Our will is surrendered, our self is dead in Christ, we obey ALL of God’s commandments, and thus we can claim peace like a river as Isaiah offers! Saints – don’t see your defeats, you’ll just get depressed and condemned. Fix your eyes on Jesus and the truth of His word.
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor 5:17).
“Thankyou Lord that in You I am a new creation. My old self has been crucified with Christ and I’ve been raised up together with You, seated with You in heavenly places. Thankyou Jesus that you submitted your will to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, and now, because I am in you and you are in me, my will is submitted to the Father. Because I am in Christ I now obey all of God’s commandments and promptings. My peace is like a river. In you I have well-being, contentment and joy, and complete wholeness in my soul. In the name of Jesus. Amen.”