Devotional: Be Led By Peace

Be Led By Peace

How you exit one season is how you will enter another. For example, exit earth without salvation and you will enter eternity without it as well. Therefore, close attention should be paid to our exit strategy.

"For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace..." (Isaiah 55:12). Too often, people leave jobs or relationships due to a lack of peace. However, the scriptures indicate there is only one way to be led out of anything - with peace. In things pertaining to life decisions, I know we would love for God to give us a phone call, send a letter, or write His direction on the wall for us to read. And although I believe all things are possible with God, these are not His primary ways of giving us direction. The number one way we receive direction from God is through peace.

There are many ways to define peace - it can be freedom from war or a tranquil state of mind. Peace can be described as a calm condition where anxiety is not present. In simplicity, peace is a state of harmony.

Harmony? Most of wouldn't change jobs or go to marriage counseling if there was harmony! So why would I wait until there is "peace" or harmony before making a change in my life? If peace already existed, there wouldn't be a need to exit -- right? The answer to this question is both yes and no. When Isaiah said we should be led out with peace, he was referring to "how" we exit, not "why" we exit. Let me give you an example.

In 1993, my husband and I only had one child. Benjamin was two years old and for most of his first years, I was a stay-at-home mom. Unfortunately, money was tight and we couldn't afford to have only one income, so I began running a daycare in my home. In the beginning, it was perfect. I was able to bring in the extra money we needed and be with my son all day. But after almost two years, things began to change. When parents would come pick up their children each day, I secretly wished someone would pick up my child too! I felt guilty for feeling that way, but I felt trapped and wanted some adult time. My husband would come home from a long day's work and the last thing he wanted to do was go out somewhere - he was glad to be home. And since we didn't have any money, it wasn't much fun to go to the mall or walk around alone, plus I had dinner to fix, laundry to wash, and other "mommy" duties. But at the same time, I couldn't continue feeling miserable. I could tell it was changing the way I took care of the other children. I wasn't as nurturing or happy as I had been in the beginning. Something had to change.

A job opportunity came available and offered enough pay to substitute what I was making baby-sitting plus extra to take care of the daycare needs I would now have for Benjamin if I went back to work outside the home. This was a big decision for me. I wanted (and needed) to make the right choice for my family.

"Be led out with peace..."

As I prayed about what to do, God gave me a course of action to use which not only helped me make the right decision then, but has helped me in every other major decision of my life since. God instructed me to find a quiet place where I could think without distraction. Once I found the place (and the time) I sat silently before the Lord, only meditating on Him. He then told me to imagine both scenarios from start to finish, one at a time. As I sat there, I imagined staying home and continuing the daycare. I played out the entire scenario as far as I could picture it. Then, following God's instruction, I imagined putting Benjamin in daycare and taking the job outside my home. Just like the other scenario, I played it out as far as my mind would let me. God then asked me this question, "Which one had peace?"

My mind had many questions regarding both scenarios, so it was hard to answer His question. God said, "Which one had peace that passes understanding?" To answer that question, I had to shut my mind off and look into my heart. With my mind and all its questions turned off, my heart immediately knew which scenario had peace. "That is what you are to do," God said. "Be led out with peace..."

At the time, it didn't make sense for me to put my child in daycare when I had the ability to stay home with him. However, I had peace about it. Two years later, after taking the job at a brokerage firm, I had the skills necessary to walk right into a similar job in Oklahoma to help my husband go to Bible School. Although I did not have the required schooling for most firms, the recommendation I received from the first job gave me a footing for equal pay with those who had experience. When I was making the decision to stay home or go to work, only God knew my future (and my future needs).

I didn't have harmony in my situation, but when I found God's will for my life, harmony was the result. Harmony is agreement. When we make life decisions in harmony (or in agreement) with God's plans and purposes for us, we will be led by peace. And in exiting with peace, then all the favor of peace enters the new season with you. When I accepted the job at the brokerage firm, I discovered that another woman with years of experience had been turned away in order to give me the job. Their reason? They said they liked my personality and thought I would be teachable. I still laugh at the thought of it! God used my time at that firm to teach me skills I still use today as a writer and in the ministry. He made a way for me, but He had to use peace that passed all my intellectual understanding and comprehension to accomplish it.

And Benjamin? God provided an amazing place for him to grow and learn while I was at work. Each day when I would pick him up, he would light up and smile as he ran to me. We missed each other. By missing each other, our time together became QUALITY time.

So what is my encouragement for you? You guessed it! Be led by peace.