Please welcome my friend, Amy Elaine Ward Martinez, to Peacefully Imperfect. I first met Amy Elaine through blogging and we quickly became friends. She’s a Colorado girl and I’m a Texas girl, but it was our writing and love for Jesus that brought us together. We were able to meet face-to-face in the summer of 2017 and I am blessed by her sweet spirit, her talents, and her kind heart. Give her a warm welcome. 

…we who come to God for refuge might be encouraged to seize that hope that is set before us. That hope is real and true, an anchor to steady our restless souls, a hope that leads us back behind the curtain to where God is…and back into the place where Jesus, who went ahead on our behalf, has entered since He has become a High Priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.  

Hebrews 6:18-20 (VOICE)

“Peace, be still. Hush, calm down.”

Speak to it. Tell it to obey. Be the voice of authority in your own life. Let hope arise from deep within and encourage yourself in the Lord. The end of the year is filled with a sense of urgency. We’re tying up loose ends and wrapping things up only to begin again in a few short days. The most powerful gift we’ve been given when we invite Jesus into our lives is the gift of constancy. It’s inherited; Jesus is our constant source of peace and in Him we have the ability to be faithful, dependable, enduring, and have consistency in our lives. We can be constant too.

CONSTANCY is the quality of being faithful and dependable.

It also can be compared to:  faithfulness, determination, perseverance, and staying power. Constancy is marked by the quality of being enduring and unchanging.

More synonyms:  consistency, permanence, persistence, durability, endurance.

See, we have everything we need to stay calm, be still, and remain peaceful. Our part is to continually invite Him into our days. As we walk out our everyday lives, we can do so with constancy. Because we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us we have everything we need to be victorious in the battle to KEEP CALM. Yet, this time of year often finds us fighting for our peace and trying to stay afloat in the storm of activity. The disciples learned a lot about staying at peace in a wild, crazy storm and we can too.

In Matthew, we see the disciples wrought with anxiety while the waves crashed overboard. Oddly, Jesus remained asleep. He wasn’t moved by what was going on all around them; Jesus stayed at peace. When the disciples finally woke Him up with their anxious cries, in a moment the atmosphere changed.

With all the authority given Him, Jesus spoke directly to the raging storm. The waves tossed and the thunder roared, but at the sound of His voice, immediately, the storm ceased and everything became perfectly calm. Jesus was the anchor that steadied their restless souls and in that moment they pierced the veil. The disciples got a glimpse into the constant peace that comes from the Presence.

(Jesus) rebuked the storm and said, “Be still!” And instantly it became perfectly calm. Matthew 8:26 (TPT)

At the sound of Jesus’ voice, the storm stopped. Time stood still and their anxiety gave way to wonder. They were astonished and amazed. They were filled with the wonder of Who Jesus really was…awed by the audacity, the authority of Heaven.

The disciples were astonished by this miracle and said to one another, “Who is this Man? Even the wind and waves obey his Word.” Matthew 8:27 (TPT)

His voice, His Presence, brought the suddenly needed in their situation. And, that same Voice still speaks to our storms today. He sings a song of deliverance over us in our most dire moments bringing us a sense of peace that passes all understanding.

The Prince of Peace is our constant.

In Zephaniah, we see God singing over His people, calming us with His love.

The Lord your God is with you;

his power gives you victory.

The Lord will take delight in you,

and in his love he will give you new life.

He will sing and be joyful over you… Zephaniah 3:17 (GNT)

Zephaniah continues telling us that at the right time, God will act. He will deal with injustice, steady the lame, gather the outcasts and oppressed, redeem those who feel ashamed, fill His people with praise, bring home the prodigal and scattered ones, promote, position, and restore the fortunes of His people. He says,

Right before your eyes, I will restore to you all that you have lost, and your lives will be full again. Zephaniah 3:20 (VOICE)

In essence, we, God’s people, will be fully at peace one day. Until then, we can pierce the veil and get a glimpse of heaven by holding fast to the peace of His presence.  Anchoring ourselves in Jesus will help us keep our peace even in the mightiest of storms; because, there will be more storms.

Listen for His voice and be still; hear the sound of singing over your situation today. Begin to feel hope. Hope will turn to peace, even a constant peace. The songs of deliverance He sings overflow with promise and breakthrough in our circumstances. Peace is there for the taking, if we will just be still and stay calm…remain, abide, listen, and lean in a little closer. When we pierce the veil, we’ll find peace is in the Presence.

Amy Elaine

Website: https://www.amyelaine.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amyelainewrites