Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker
Name that Tune
I awakened during the night with the melody of an old hymn in my head. I had the tune and recognized it as being a song from my childhood. Oddly, I couldn’t pull out the title or lyrics but I knew the subject was peace. I made a mental note to remember this experience and then went back to sleep. When I awakened in the morning, the lyrics to the first verse began to come to me. I found my 1953 hymnal of “Praise and Worship” and quickly found the title in the index. Like Lieutenant Colonel John ’Hannibal’ Smith with the A-Team, ”I love it when a plan [song] comes together.”
“Wonderful Peace” was written by W.D. Cornell and W.G. Cooper. I never question the songs that God brings up in my spirit. He knows me better than I know myself, therefore, I trust Him. Asaph was the music director during the reign of King David and King Solomon. He penned his personal experience with God: “I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, and my spirit makes diligent search” (Psalm 77:6 NKJV). In the present darkness, believers will always find God standing with us and often reminds us of His faithfulness through a song.
If God can’t seem to get our attention during the day, He’ll speak to us in the night. Why? After the errands are finished, the to-do list is completed, and the troubleshooting is done, then comes the quiet of the night. When our minds are at rest, our hands are motionless, and our mouths are silenced, God can whisper and then we can hear Him.
Here is the “song in the night” that God wanted me to hear: “Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight rolls a melody sweeter than psalm. In celestial-like strains it unceasingly falls o’er my soul like an infinite calm. Peace! Peace! Wonderful peace. Coming down from the Father above! Sweep over my spirit forever I pray, in fathomless billows of love. I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace. Resting sweetly in Jesus’ control. For I’m kept from all danger by night and by day. And His glory is flooding my soul.” Peace replaces anxiety when we hand the troubling circumstance to God and trust Him to take over.
God works through a myriad of ways in order to tell us what He wants us to hear. Apparently, I needed to be reminded of the peace that was given to me by the Prince of Peace. “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for You alone, O Lord, will keep me safe” (Psalm 4:8 NLT). If I want to passionately live for Christ and remain faithful to the end, I need to be peaceful during the journey.
Peace is a big deal and Jesus made it available for all Christ followers. Without peace in our heart, life ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Apostle Paul understood the importance of peace as he wrote to encourage the Thessalonian church. “Now, may the Lord Himself, the Lord of peace, pour into you His peace in every circumstance and in every possible way. The Lord‘s tangible presence be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16 TPT). Believers can live out our faith with peace every day. It’s certainly possible to fall off the wagon for a time, but we don’t have to stay there. Just get up, brush ourselves off, and hop on the peace wagon again. And hold on for dear life because the road is bumpy.
The Key: Consider yourself hugged by God when He speaks peace into your heart.