Swimming with the Sharks
by Kim Meeder
In her new book Fierce Beauty, Kim Meeder recounts in detail her experience diving
with sharks in the Pacific Ocean. From the safety of a shark cage, she and her
husband, Troy, came in extremely close contact with numerous man-eating
creatures.
God is so good to reveal himself, whether it's through His Word, in church, or with a shark cage in the Pacific Ocean. When we are in Christ, it's as if we are inside the invisible safety of a Plexiglas box. We can swim among giant "sharks" and have complete peace. When we are not in Christ, we are not in a safe place. Then swimming among giant sharks is terrifying because one of them could destroy us at any moment.
Since we know this, why do we believers keep climbing out of Christ's protective place?
Friend, when we are in Christ, we will have perfect peace...no matter what monsters, what storms, what darkness surrounds us. He cannot be moved, and when we place our lives inside His, neither can we.
His peace is not circumstantial. It doesn't come from those things on the outside that surround us. His peace comes from within; it comes from Jesus being inside us. Scripture says, "His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). If we're finding our peace in Christ, nothing in this life can take it away—period!
Since this is true, why do we Christians suffer from bouts of anxiety, depression, and fear? Why are such vast numbers mired in negativity? Maybe it's because our focus really isn't "in" Christ. Perhaps we place our trust in hopes for peace in a husband, a job, a friend, a look, an ability, a bank account, a family member, a title, a boyfriend, a thing. Any of these entities, when placed in a higher position than God, becomes more than just a distraction from truth; it becomes our idol. When it wavers or collapses, so does the sense of peace we fostered through it.
When will we realize that where fear exists, peace cannot?
Someone much wiser than me once said, "Either Christ is Lord of all...or He isn't Lord at all."
When we continually jump in and out of the peace of God, it's the equivalent of playing spiritual Hokey Pokey. He doesn't want us to put our trust in Him and then take our trust out. Or put our trust in Him and shake it all about. Believe me, this isn't what it's all about! He'd rather we just put our hearts in...and keep them in, because it's when we abide in Him that His authentic peace within us grows.
Resting in God's peace is like being in a shark cage or the eye of a hurricane. It doesn't mean we will be spared from those who wish to harm us or from the storms of this life. It means that because of our King's great love for us, we can go through the storms together, in peace: "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart" (John 14:27). Because of our Lord, we can be peaceful in the face of serious illness or injury, we can be peaceful in the collapse of a family, we can be peaceful in financial crisis, and we can be peaceful when facing death-- if we choose to place our peace in Him.
So if we don't feel God's peace, it's only because we've chosen not to. Inadvertently or not, we left the Plexiglas box and are swimming with the creatures that can destroy us. If this is true for you, there's no time like the present to call on His name and return to His presence and peace.
Excerpted from Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder (published by Multnomah Books). Troy and Kim Meeder join James and Betty Robison this Monday and Tuesday on LIFE TODAY.
God is so good to reveal himself, whether it's through His Word, in church, or with a shark cage in the Pacific Ocean. When we are in Christ, it's as if we are inside the invisible safety of a Plexiglas box. We can swim among giant "sharks" and have complete peace. When we are not in Christ, we are not in a safe place. Then swimming among giant sharks is terrifying because one of them could destroy us at any moment.
Since we know this, why do we believers keep climbing out of Christ's protective place?
Friend, when we are in Christ, we will have perfect peace...no matter what monsters, what storms, what darkness surrounds us. He cannot be moved, and when we place our lives inside His, neither can we.
His peace is not circumstantial. It doesn't come from those things on the outside that surround us. His peace comes from within; it comes from Jesus being inside us. Scripture says, "His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). If we're finding our peace in Christ, nothing in this life can take it away—period!
Since this is true, why do we Christians suffer from bouts of anxiety, depression, and fear? Why are such vast numbers mired in negativity? Maybe it's because our focus really isn't "in" Christ. Perhaps we place our trust in hopes for peace in a husband, a job, a friend, a look, an ability, a bank account, a family member, a title, a boyfriend, a thing. Any of these entities, when placed in a higher position than God, becomes more than just a distraction from truth; it becomes our idol. When it wavers or collapses, so does the sense of peace we fostered through it.
When will we realize that where fear exists, peace cannot?
Someone much wiser than me once said, "Either Christ is Lord of all...or He isn't Lord at all."
When we continually jump in and out of the peace of God, it's the equivalent of playing spiritual Hokey Pokey. He doesn't want us to put our trust in Him and then take our trust out. Or put our trust in Him and shake it all about. Believe me, this isn't what it's all about! He'd rather we just put our hearts in...and keep them in, because it's when we abide in Him that His authentic peace within us grows.
Resting in God's peace is like being in a shark cage or the eye of a hurricane. It doesn't mean we will be spared from those who wish to harm us or from the storms of this life. It means that because of our King's great love for us, we can go through the storms together, in peace: "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart" (John 14:27). Because of our Lord, we can be peaceful in the face of serious illness or injury, we can be peaceful in the collapse of a family, we can be peaceful in financial crisis, and we can be peaceful when facing death-- if we choose to place our peace in Him.
So if we don't feel God's peace, it's only because we've chosen not to. Inadvertently or not, we left the Plexiglas box and are swimming with the creatures that can destroy us. If this is true for you, there's no time like the present to call on His name and return to His presence and peace.
Excerpted from Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder (published by Multnomah Books). Troy and Kim Meeder join James and Betty Robison this Monday and Tuesday on LIFE TODAY.
Kim Meeder on Life Today
tells how Jesus Christ miraculously comforted her in that dark time.
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