| September 6, 2017 "My Peace Within will Calm the Storm"
by Steve Fair, Port Huron, Michigan Intro from Andy Sanders:  Let me break Spirit-led wisdom down this way: Proverbs teaches us that even though we are Spirit-led, we must learn to use our head. When I think of wisdom, I am reminded of Steve Fair. He is a Licensed Social Worker (LMSW) and Certified Addiction Counselor who has worked in the Mental Health and Substance Abuse field for over 24 years. Not only does he deal with the renewal of the mind, he is also a Spirit-led Christian.
God has called us to walk in a sound mind within the midst of an unsound world! As Steve writes, "It is not the avoidant denial of the storm that is Christianity or maturity of faith. It is the belief of God's reality in the middle of the storm, coupled with the self-control, to "lay down in the boat" when it appears that the storm will overtake us." In the midst of your storm, God's got your back! Brace yourself for some powerful truth! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.) Andy Sanders
5 Fold Media, LLC
Website: 5foldmedia.com Note from Steve Shultz: Please forward this word to your friends! Encourage them to subscribe to the Elijah List right here: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe. Enjoy! Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com ************************************* "My Peace Within will Calm the Storm"
by Steve Fair, Port Huron, Michigan It was during a very turbulent time in my life that God gave me a picture which perfectly conveyed the truth I needed in the terms I could understand. He sent me the simple truths that would bring me the kind of peace that only He could give! As a sailor in the Great Lakes, I understand storms, I understand waves, and I have seen the calm that is present before and after a storm! As a Spirit-led Social Worker (counselor), I understand some of the great storms and waves of the human soul, but the perfect calm of the spirit is inhabited by our Savior! What I didn't know is that I could have that peace right in the middle of the storm. What I learned is that I do not have to wish only for the peace that had come before the storms, or wish for the peace that comes after, but that I could have it NOW in the MIDDLE of everything that doesn't make sense to me in the natural. "In the Midst of the Storm, I Give Eternal Love and Trust" Let me tell you how I see this scenario. In a vision, God showed me a person in a small boat, lying face down toward the clear and bright sky. The birds were chirping and the atmosphere was near perfect at the time. A short while later, the person sat up enough to see toward the horizon, and there was a massive hurricane actually surrounding the area where the boat was. There was a great swirl of turbulent wind, waves, and darkness encircling the person in the boat on every side. I looked out into the hurricane and then back into the eye of the storm from which the person in the boat had been resting peacefully. I could see that the storm and the peace within the eye of the storm were both present at the same time. Like the person in the boat surrounded by the massive storm, they had to make a decision – trust God and have peace or panic and attempt to control the situation through fear. Then, I realized that I too had to live my life within the realm of God's perfect love, where there isn't fear nor react in situations from a worldly perspective, one driven by fear. Just like the person in the boat, my mind, will, and emotions would react to love and trust, or fear and doubt, depending on my perspective. Isn't that how our soul works? Our emotions feel whatever reality that we choose to react to. As I saw myself now within the perspective of the person in the vision, I could see that the reality of the storm was life and death; but that the peace and calm in the eye of the storm was just as overwhelmingly real. It is the spiritual perspective we allow ourselves to surrender to: the storm that comes to kill or the peace within that continues to trust the Lord. Emotional Storms Within Upon looking more carefully into the storm swirling around the person in the boat, it wasn't just wind and waves, but pictures that represented everyday concerns – the accusations of the enemy, thoughts of rejection, trigger points and people who represented the swirl of emotions inside the storms of life. In many cases, the storm represented parts of my life at the time – the issues and matters of my own heart. Clincher: At the end of the vision, I soon realized I was that person in the boat and the more I gazed upon the storm, the more I felt myself being sucked into the storm and the swirl that I knew would lead to my demise. I was aware that God wanted me to see the storm as He had me look at both the peacefulness of the boat and the turbulence of the storm. I was also aware that He was revealing the matter of my heart. I could feel the questions inside of how to stay in the eye of the storm, but without being in denial of the reality of the storm that Jesus never told us to deny. He just taught us to stand in the middle of it and declare the peace that is our Kingdom-reality by saying, "Peace be still" (Mark 4:39). Sometimes the solution doesn't come through a long prayer and a sustained cry, but rather, a simple word spoken in truth from the depth of our heart. When God hears us speak from the heart, it moves His heart with compassion. Seeing the opposing realities of the Kingdom and the natural realm (world) where we live, the polar opposites of our emotions of peace and panic come to light. It's like the story of Gomer in the book of Hosea. God said of the Israelites "their hearts are divided." It is not the avoidant denial of the storm that is Christianity or maturity of faith. It is the belief of God's reality in the middle of the storm coupled with the self-control to "lay down in the boat" when it appears that the storm will overtake us. This is the path to the true "peace that passes all understanding" (Phil 4:7) – that we and those in the world are in such great need of. Our Resting Place Through Storms Our first step to true peace in this life's journey is to acknowledge we have both peace and storms internal, and to learn the discipline to not get sucked in the storm, while not sticking our heads in the sand of denial that brings a false peace which is really a religious dissociated state. In this busy and often traumatic world we live in, we can learn to see the storm just long enough to declare "Peace be still" over our mind, and then lay back in our boats in the center of a storm and see the reality of God's perfect peace, calm and warmth. This place in the spirit is our resting place that is the protection described in Psalm 91, from where we can live. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.) Steve Fair
Founder and Director of Renewal Center
Email: steve@dividedheartbook.com
Website: www.dividedheartbook.com | www.renewalcenter.org Steve Fair is the founder and the director of Renewal Christian Counseling Center, which was started in 2001. It was birthed out of his desire to see a new depth and power in the counseling field come through providing cutting-edge clinical, medical, and spiritual interventions to those whose hearts are hurting and broken. He has his ministry degree from MorningStar Ministries in Fort Mill, SC, and has ministered as a speaker, teacher, and counselor for the last twenty-five years in Michigan. He received his master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan in 1995. Steve and his wife, Mindy, have been married for twenty-two years and have one son, Ryan. ************************************* To receive daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List to your in box CLICK HERE or go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe Visit our webstore and check out Alveda King's brand new book by Elijah List Publications: America Return to God: www.americareturntogod.com Also check out Steve Shultz's Revised and 2nd Edition book Can't You Talk Louder, God?: http://www.elijahshopper.com/cant-you-talk-louder-god-secrets-to-hearing-the-voice-of-god-revised-and-updated-edition-by-steve-shultz/ Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep Elijah List website, email contact info, and author contact information intact. Elijah List Publications
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