Belted in Peace

Poor Isaiah.  Remember his whole book was prophesies to the people of Israel about their impending exile.  They, of course, did not know it was impending, but God did and Isaiah tried to warn them.  But in the midst of the words about their coming doom and exile, we know there are portions where the people get to learn what life would be like after this punishment of exile.  In particular, one passage states so clearly what they need to do in order to live the life God had intended for them, which, truly, is a life of peace.  In Isaiah 32:17-18 it says, "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.  My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest."  I hope that Isaiah was able to live in peace with the calling he had on his life.

Jeremiah had the same 'wonderful' call on his life (can you tell I don't envy them) where he also spoke to the Israelites about their impending doom/exile.  What is cool about Jeremiah is that he got to use illustrations that related to their everyday life, similar to the parables that Jesus used when he was speaking.  One of his illustrations was striking for me.  In Jeremiah 13:11 it says, "'For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me', declares the Lord, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor.'"

Think for a moment about what a belt does.  It not only holds everything together, it is the finishing touch, the gathering of the outfit, the thing that makes the rest all come together and hold in place.  Cole is my detail kid, my specific kid.  Recently, while ordering his school uniforms, we saw that they were offering a belt this year.  It was not just any old belt, it was shiny, reversible, and awesome.  Now, Cole is a pretty skinny dude, but he has never worn a belt, so, we ordered the belt.  In Cole's world, the belt rocks!  He has gone through many machinations of showing me the belt under a t-shirt, telling me how it helps when his pants are too big, understanding that the belt color must match the shoe color which makes the reverse feature all that more important.  After about a week he got dressed up for his birthday on his own for our family dinner and came down the stairs with collared shirt tucked in so the belt could be seen.  It was the cutest thing I had seen in a while, a little Steve Erkel, but still really cute!  This belt is important to Cole and he has not been without it since he received it.  That's how God wants his truth and his being to be to us and our kids.  Never without it, always allowing it to hold us together.

 There is another belt that is mentioned in the new testament.  Do you know where I am going?  Remember last week we talked about walking in the sandals of peace.  If we back up from Ephesians 6:15 and start with 6:14 it reads: "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."  Now look again at the Isaiah 32 verse above.  The fruit of righteousness that comes from being girded with the belt of truth will be peace which will bring quietness and confidence forever.  So, if we wrap ourselves in God's truth, the outcome is a life of peace.  As God intended to be the belt of Israel, he also intends to be that for us, by being our truth, our center, our focus and driving force, the thing that holds us together.  With God's truth secured around us and our kids then they can walk in the knowledge and the comfort that he is holding it all together.  We are equally yoked to someone who has a defined plan and action steps to move forward.  "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:32  The truth of God's love for us, his sacrifice for us, his desire for us, provides us with the ability to not worry and to walk in his peace.  Now, we will worry and fret, we may even spin out of control sometimes, but if we remember his truth, his belt around us, the peace he has promised, then can't we help our kids to get closer to not worrying?  Can't we move toward releasing our own worries?

Cole is due for an orthodontic expander on his bottom jaw, the top one has already been expanded.  I know, I had never heard of top and bottom expanders, however his mouth is pretty crowded and I digress.  As we were talking about the installation of the expander and how he may be in pain for a day or so he had a revelation.  Cole, from the mouth of babes, said that in the end it would be ok, because his mouth would have more room, his teeth would be straight and it is only a small part of his life.  WOW!  I love when God tees up a conversation.  So, Cole was comfortable with something that might hurt because he knew the truth.  That ultimately it would not hurt anymore, that the outcome would be wonderful.  What if when we entered a situation we remembered that we are girded with the Lord's truth and, in that knowledge, walked into each situation in peace?  Get out a belt and talk to your kid's about being belted in God's peace! 
Next month we move to the next all important fruit of the spirit: patience.  Just in time for a school to begin and the schedules to kick up.

By His Grace