God Will Restore Your Peace

by Tim Burt | Uncategorized

scotlandsheepYears ago, I was on a trip to Scotland and Ireland. You haven’t seen green grass until you’ve been to Scotland and Ireland. They have some of the most beautiful countryside and rolling green hills I’ve ever seen. You also see many sheep. They graze in these green never-ending pastures. Places like this make me think about Psalm 23:2: “The Lord makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

When I am in places like this, I can’t help but see God and all of His creation in everything I gaze upon. I think, God’s will is to lead me to these kinds of places and atmospheres. When He does, it illuminates how magnificent and powerful He is and that the Creator of all these things loves me as His child and wants to lead me beside still waters.

Green pastures and still waters may be more the exception than the experience for most of us. Someone recently said to me, It seems like there’s always something negative going on that wants to spoil my day or current season of life. The truth is, we do have an enemy of our soul. His name is Satan, and He hates God and anything that represents God. Jesus said that this enemy has come to kill, steal, and destroy. Much of the world has seen destruction and death from hurricanes and tornadoes. Did God cause that? Of course not. We live in a defiled world.

The Bible says that because of the choices of man, Satan has become the god of this world. Killing and destruction is what he attempts to do. Even when people pray for help, for too many, it’s like breaking a wishbone. They have no real faith in God or in His love and divine protection. God is moved by relationship in Jesus and by faith in His Word. In the absence of that, the devil has a heyday and tries to destroy. Death and destruction are his playground.

Yet, God even has a plan for those surrounded by destruction and death. We also see that in Psalm 23:4: “Even when I walk through the shadow of death, I will not be afraid. For You, O Lord are close with me. Your rod and your staff (His word and promise) protect and comfort me.”

I’ll tell a bad story on myself. I was one of ten children. When I was about seven years old, I lived in a bedroom with one other younger brother and two younger sisters. I was the big shot because I was the oldest of us four. At night when we were in bed and it was dark, I would pull out my flashlight and make shadows of a spider on the wall. Those shadows scared the ba-geebers out of my younger siblings. I thought it was funny. I regret that now. Obviously, there really was no real danger, but only shadows. Interesting enough though, shadows can and do produce fear.

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scotlandsheepYears ago, I was on a trip to Scotland and Ireland. You haven’t seen green grass until you’ve been to Scotland and Ireland. They have some of the most beautiful countryside and rolling green hills I’ve ever seen. You also see many sheep. They graze in these green never-ending pastures. Places like this make me think about Psalm 23:2: “The Lord makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”

When I am in places like this, I can’t help but see God and all of His creation in everything I gaze upon. I think, God’s will is to lead me to these kinds of places and atmospheres. When He does, it illuminates how magnificent and powerful He is and that the Creator of all these things loves me as His child and wants to lead me beside still waters.

Green pastures and still waters may be more the exception than the experience for most of us. Someone recently said to me, It seems like there’s always something negative going on that wants to spoil my day or current season of life. The truth is, we do have an enemy of our soul. His name is Satan, and He hates God and anything that represents God. Jesus said that this enemy has come to kill, steal, and destroy. Much of the world has seen destruction and death from hurricanes and tornadoes. Did God cause that? Of course not. We live in a defiled world.

The Bible says that because of the choices of man, Satan has become the god of this world. Killing and destruction is what he attempts to do. Even when people pray for help, for too many, it’s like breaking a wishbone. They have no real faith in God or in His love and divine protection. God is moved by relationship in Jesus and by faith in His Word. In the absence of that, the devil has a heyday and tries to destroy. Death and destruction are his playground.

Yet, God even has a plan for those surrounded by destruction and death. We also see that in Psalm 23:4: “Even when I walk through the shadow of death, I will not be afraid. For You, O Lord are close with me. Your rod and your staff (His word and promise) protect and comfort me.”

I’ll tell a bad story on myself. I was one of ten children. When I was about seven years old, I lived in a bedroom with one other younger brother and two younger sisters. I was the big shot because I was the oldest of us four. At night when we were in bed and it was dark, I would pull out my flashlight and make shadows of a spider on the wall. Those shadows scared the ba-geebers out of my younger siblings. I thought it was funny. I regret that now. Obviously, there really was no real danger, but only shadows. Interesting enough though, shadows can and do produce fear.

The Lord said that even as we walk through the shadow of death, we do not have to be afraid because He was with us. What is the shadow of death? It’s the fearful or negative mental images that Satan continually tries to bombard our minds with, seducing us into states of panic, or anxiety, or cares. The more we think upon them and “see” them in our mind, the worse they get. They become a shadow of death!

God has not abandoned us in these hard places. His will is to comfort us and lead us to green pastures and still waters. Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

When we will quiet our soul (our mind and emotions) and spend time with Him and learn of His promises, the voice of the Holy Spirit will rise up from within and comfort us. His Words will make our soul still and the waters quiet. They will cause fear to go as God’s greatness, power, and promises are magnified within our hearts.

When I was in those fields of Scotland, surrounded by what seemed like oceans of green grassy hills, God became infinite in size, and my cares and problems began to fade away. We don’t have to go to Scotland to experience this. We just have to take in the power of His Word and let it still our heart and soul. He loves us, you know! Very much! Lean on Him and His Word and trust Him!

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. (Psalm 107:29)

Copyright © Fresh Manna by Tim Burt
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Timothy Burt is a pastor, author, and writer. He is best known as the author of Fresh Manna, a daily devotional and online Bible study.

Pastor Tim became a part of the leadership team at Living Word Christian Center in 1984 and was an Associate Pastor from 1989 until May 31st, 2017. He and His wife Renee, also a Pastor at Living Word, resigned after being a part of Living Word for 33 years on May 31, 2017. They felt impressed by God to pursue the tremendous growth of their ministry "Fresh Manna," as well as teaching conferences and seminars and increasing their involvement in the mission field through Tim and Renee Burt Ministries. Tim has a Bachelor of Theology degree and is a Christian blogger who has been writing a daily inspirational and teaching devotion three days a week called "Fresh Manna" for the past 22 years. It has been read in over 227 countries (official countries and territories). Tim was named one of the top 55 blogging Pastors. He is one of the top Social Media influencers in Minnesota with a strong presence on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimBurt with over 187,000 followers. Between Tim's Fresh Manna Devotional and Twitter influence, he virally averages reaching over 4 million people daily with the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of God.

Prior to working at LWCC, he worked at Northwest Airlines for 13 years. In 1985 he founded and was President of American Infant Care Products which marketed his patented invention, the first fold-down commercial infant changing table now used worldwide in public restrooms.

In their tenure at Living Word, Timothy Burt and his wife Renee created a Small Group Ministry when the church was about 800 people in size. Under the leadership of Sr. Pastors Mac and Lynne Hammond, the church grew to over 10,000 people. Pastor Tim and Renee led a diverse Small Group Ministry of over 200 groups. Tim also led weekly men's groups and a monthly Men's Breakfast of 250 plus men called Manhood for 27 years. Tim's responsibilities also included oversight over the Visitor and Member Relations Department, Leadership and Volunteer Development, and the Pastoral Care Department. Pastor Tim was also the Minnesota State Director of Christians United for Israel from 2006 thru 2017.

Tim and Renee are the parents of four children and have seven grandchildren. Tim loves to write, golf, run, and walk, and is a master gardener. He is a five-time marathon finisher. He is also a three-time award-winning gardener winning the Grand Prize in his city for his beautiful home garden and is a Master Gardener for the University of Minnesota's Master Gardener Extension Program.

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