It was early one morning. I was sitting in my chair reading my Bible, worship music played softly in the background. It was an uneventful morning; I was in my daily routine when I heard God speak plainly to me. He said, “I have commanded peace on you.”
I laid my Bible in my lap and listened, giving God my full attention. He again repeated, “I have commanded peace on you.”
My first thought was the battles I have faced this year – seems like they are never ending – peace, I thought would be good, especially a commanded peace from an Almighty God. I rested in the words He spoke to me. Every few hours during that day, He spoke those words over me. “I have commanded peace on you.”
Several hours later, I was riding up the mountain, sitting in the passenger’s seat, listening to my granddaughter, Brailee, talk excitedly about her upcoming lesson and horse shows. Still, every few minutes that phrase ran through my mind. “I have commanded peace on you.”
About thirty minutes into her lesson, I walked back down the hill to sit in the Jeep for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard an odd noise. I opened the door of the Jeep to go see what was going on. At the same moment the horse came bolting past me – I knew in that moment something was very wrong. This is a horse Brailee has trained on for years, since she was five years old. She is always mild mannered, nothing like what I was seeing.
I ran to the arena to find Brailee on the ground, her mom holding her. I exclaimed, “what happened?”
In the moments that followed I found that Ruby, the horse, had begun to buck wildly eventually bucking Brailee off. Still bucking, she stepped on Brailee’s leg. Brailee looked at me and said, “Nana, I can’t see. Will I ever be able to see again?” She then said, “I can’t feel my arm!”
My eyes meet Breanne’s as she called Brailee’s dad who is an EMT. We got Brailee in the vehicle and started down the mountain with her saying she couldn’t see or feel her arm. After a few minutes we were instructed to call an ambulance and get her stabilized. Which we did. Before I knew it, we were headed for the Children’s Trauma hospital an hour away.
The hours that followed were difficult, they were full of tests, x-rays, and dozens of medical personnel. Yet through it all, I never panicked. Some of the things were hard to hear but I never once lost my peace.
That day, I experienced the peace of God like I have never experienced before. The hospital visit lasted many hours. Thankfully, miraculously, nothing was broken, there was no permanent damage at all. God is so good. Late that night we took Brailee home, exhausted, and sore but home, with her sight intact and the feeling back in her body.
What I learned that day is God’s peace, when you really tap into His peace, it is an amazing peace. Just like the Bible says, a peace that passes all understanding…a peace so deep you can’t even understand how you are walking in it.
That is what is available to us. We do not need to hear God say, “I have commanded peace on you.” He has ALREADY commanded peace on us.
Peace, I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid (Jn 14:27, NKJV.)
You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You (Is 26:3, NKJV.)
Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all (2 Thess 3:16, NKJV.)
My friends, God’s peace is available to all of us. May we all learn to tap into that wonderful peace and walk in it daily.
*Brailee has loved riding since she was five years old.
