Magnified Peace - Pt 3

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV).

As I began to think about today’s devotional I remembered our experience in Yellowstone visiting Old Faithful. You may know that it was so named because of its regular schedule of eruption. However, the truth is a little different than that. It is not as “faithful” as you may have been led to believe. Basic prediction of Old Faithful is dependent upon the duration of the previous eruption. Intervals can range from 60-110 minutes. Eruptions normally last between 1.5 to 5 minutes. The famous geyser currently erupts around 17 times a day and can be predicted with a 90 percent confidence rate within a 10 minute variation. Now, that’s pretty “faithful.” However, it is nothing compared to the faithfulness of our God. Our reading today declares, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (v. 22). Both Peter and Paul help us understand the second truth in our series regarding the “multiplied peace” God gives us. Grace and peace vary in measure in our lives. That is what the word “multiply” means. “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” May there be an increase of grace and peace in your experience. Grace and peace are not static. They go up and down in our lives. Hour by hour and day by day, our enjoyment of grace and peace changes. It ebbs and flows. One moment we are carried by a wave of grace into a harbor of peace. An hour later, after a painful phone call, we are storm-tossed out of sight of land again. That is reality. However, we can always count on God giving us more grace and peace than we can imagine possible. When we were waiting for Old Faithful to erupt, there were several times when it would bubble up and spew some steam. Some of the folks could be overheard asking, “Is that it?”I thought, “If that’s all there is, someone has certainly photo-shopped all the pictures I’ve ever seen. Of course, that wasn’t all there was. When the time was right, it erupted, sending water and steam over a hundred feet into the sky. It was truly a magnificent sight. That’s God’s peace and grace. It varies, but it is consistent. We are never left to fend for ourselves. Regardless of the challenges of our journey, God is ever-present to do an abundant work of grace in our lives. We can count on God for every new measure for every new moment.