Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Jesus was the most intelligent being to ever walk this earth.  Yet He never spoke using complicated words.  When He taught, He often spoke in parables, stories that His listeners could relate to and picture in their minds.  He knew that a picture was worth a thousand words and that these images would stick with them, easy to remember. Jesus wasn't "dumbing down" for His listeners.  He brilliantly realized that by giving them visuals, stories that included metaphors, that they could comprehend and retain more than if He spoke to them in more intellectual terms. Jesus also spoke plainly about His identity, what was to come, and about how we are now related to Him through His Holy Spirit.  (see John 14, Matthew 24, and Luke 21) God is omniscient, which means that He knows all.  Jesus is God.  Ergo, Jesus is omniscient.  His omniscience did not stop when He became human.  He could tap into that awesome power at any time as God's Son. I bring this up because I have noticed

We know we are struggling with something when we lack inner peace.  This may seem an obvious statement, but yet we struggle. We want control, not contrition. We want our will, not God’s will. We want what will never satisfy, not simplicity. We want to make it about self, not sacrifice. We want outer peace and quiet, not surrender so that we can know inner peace. "Cease striving and know that I am God." When we cease striving, we come to know God better, are found in His peace that passes all understanding. It’s like we can’t know that He is God if we are still striving, struggling after that which does not satisfy. It’s all in Him. Everything we could ever want and need is in Christ. But we tend to complicate things instead. It’s too simple. There must be more to it. There isn’t. When we stop trying so hard, God is there, ready to meet us where we are. He is there ready to comfort and protect us from our greedy selves. Cease striving. There is an order: 1. Cease striving. Jus