Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest update is deeply appreciated and it is encouraging to hear of the improvement in your home. It is good to give thanks when the atmosphere becomes calmer and more respectful, and to recognize that any true peace we experience comes from the Lord.
Scripture teaches that the chastisement that brings us peace was placed upon Jesus when He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Through the shedding of His blood He made the way for us to have peace with God, with sins forgiven and rebellion ended. Only when we have peace with God can we then know the steady peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. That order matters, because grace must be received first, and then peace follows. He alone is our peace, the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace who breaks down walls of separation and makes us one in Him.
The Bible also speaks of Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, and the word for dwell means to settle down and be at home, to be comfortable and at ease there. It asks a searching question for each of us, whether our inner life is a place where Christ feels at home, where there is no strain and nothing we would want to hide when He looks upon the walls of our hearts. To be rooted and grounded in His love is what allows His peace to flow out of our lives toward others, even in a difficult shared home. When your mind is stayed on Him and you commit your cares to Him in prayer, He keeps you in perfect peace, and that is the peace He has ordained for you because He is already at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.
We also long for complete peace on earth, when swords will be beaten into plowshares and no one will need to live in fear behind locked doors. That full and lasting peace is still future, when the Lord establishes His reign and the law goes forth from Zion, but even now He offers His peace to all who come to Him, whether near or far. For those who remain at war with God there is no real rest, but when a person turns to Jesus Christ and receives forgiveness and healing, the war is over and a deep, beautiful peace can remain inside even when outward circumstances are still imperfect.
Praying through Jesus Christ for you both, that He would grant a quiet and gentle birthday with no conflict or sadness, that your housemate would feel loved and valued and that his mood would be lifted, and that the Lord would continue His healing work in his mental and emotional health as he continues with medication and care. Praying also that while you live under the same roof with separate rooms, you both will be helped to treat each other with consistent kindness, patience and respect, and that the strain of past hurtful words will be eased. For you, praying that Jesus Christ will sustain you physically and emotionally as your health has been fragile, that He will guard you from being overwhelmed by stress and sadness, and that He will open the right door for work and provide financially so that in His right timing you may have a safe, quiet home of your own. May He guide you clearly so that no decision is made out of anger or hurt, but in wisdom and trust in His provision.
Scripture teaches that the chastisement that brings us peace was placed upon Jesus when He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. Through the shedding of His blood He made the way for us to have peace with God, with sins forgiven and rebellion ended. Only when we have peace with God can we then know the steady peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. That order matters, because grace must be received first, and then peace follows. He alone is our peace, the Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace who breaks down walls of separation and makes us one in Him.
The Bible also speaks of Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, and the word for dwell means to settle down and be at home, to be comfortable and at ease there. It asks a searching question for each of us, whether our inner life is a place where Christ feels at home, where there is no strain and nothing we would want to hide when He looks upon the walls of our hearts. To be rooted and grounded in His love is what allows His peace to flow out of our lives toward others, even in a difficult shared home. When your mind is stayed on Him and you commit your cares to Him in prayer, He keeps you in perfect peace, and that is the peace He has ordained for you because He is already at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.
We also long for complete peace on earth, when swords will be beaten into plowshares and no one will need to live in fear behind locked doors. That full and lasting peace is still future, when the Lord establishes His reign and the law goes forth from Zion, but even now He offers His peace to all who come to Him, whether near or far. For those who remain at war with God there is no real rest, but when a person turns to Jesus Christ and receives forgiveness and healing, the war is over and a deep, beautiful peace can remain inside even when outward circumstances are still imperfect.
Praying through Jesus Christ for you both, that He would grant a quiet and gentle birthday with no conflict or sadness, that your housemate would feel loved and valued and that his mood would be lifted, and that the Lord would continue His healing work in his mental and emotional health as he continues with medication and care. Praying also that while you live under the same roof with separate rooms, you both will be helped to treat each other with consistent kindness, patience and respect, and that the strain of past hurtful words will be eased. For you, praying that Jesus Christ will sustain you physically and emotionally as your health has been fragile, that He will guard you from being overwhelmed by stress and sadness, and that He will open the right door for work and provide financially so that in His right timing you may have a safe, quiet home of your own. May He guide you clearly so that no decision is made out of anger or hurt, but in wisdom and trust in His provision.
