The Peace of God

[Steve Noel]

We are facing some major life changes in the coming months. As I prayed and meditated upon Scripture today I was reminded of how God has worked in my life over the years. Here is a testimony I shared today on Facebook:

I came to Christ in November of 1996 at the age of 21. At that time I was often riddled with anxiety about life. My mind was continually occupied with worry. I did not know what it was like to have internal peace. After a morning church service one Sunday early in 1997 I went home and fell asleep. As I slept, I had a dream from the Lord.

In my dream I was in our church building at night. Nobody else was present. All the lights were off and the darkness was so thick that I could not see my hand right in front of my face. I sensed that there was danger in the darkness. Fear permeated my body and mind. I seemed to know that there were evil spirits throughout the room. I was paralyzed with fear. I could not see. I was straining to see or hear where the danger was at. In my dream I remember being afraid to take a single step lest I walk into a trap. I crouched to the ground trying not to make any noise. Fear was coursing through my body. All my muscles were tense. My heart was racing. That is when I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Trust me." As soon as these words came to me I closed my eyes and all the fear and tension left my body and mind. Immediately I had complete peace.

 

This exact dream was repeated two more times in succession. As soon as the peace permeated my body and mind the third time I awoke from the dream. It is not possible for me to adequately express the experiential contrasts in the dream. I went from fearful paralysis to perfect peace in an instant.

Several years later I came across a text in Isaiah that I have often meditated on. Isaiah writes,

 

Quote

"Who is among you that fears Yahweh, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and rely on his God." (50:10)

 

I have not lived under the tyranny of anxiety for a long time now. What a great privilege we have as children of God. We have access to the Father anytime, anywhere. All we have to do is lift our eyes and rest in His love and sovereignty. When we do, his peace fills our souls. There is nothing like walking with our great God!

[Tacenda]

Beautiful!!

[Okrahomer]

3 minutes ago, Steve Noel said:

We are facing some major life changes in the coming months. As I prayed and meditated upon Scripture today I was reminded of how God has worked in my life over the years. Here is a testimony I shared today on Facebook:

I came to Christ in November of 1996 at the age of 21. At that time I was often riddled with anxiety about life. My mind was continually occupied with worry. I did not know what it was like to have internal peace. After a morning church service one Sunday early in 1997 I went home and fell asleep. As I slept, I had a dream from the Lord.

In my dream I was in our church building at night. Nobody else was present. All the lights were off and the darkness was so thick that I could not see my hand right in front of my face. I sensed that there was danger in the darkness. Fear permeated my body and mind. I seemed to know that there were evil spirits throughout the room. I was paralyzed with fear. I could not see. I was straining to see or hear where the danger was at. In my dream I remember being afraid to take a single step lest I walk into a trap. I crouched to the ground trying not to make any noise. Fear was coursing through my body. All my muscles were tense. My heart was racing. That is when I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Trust me." As soon as these words came to me I closed my eyes and all the fear and tension left my body and mind. Immediately I had complete peace.

 

This exact dream was repeated two more times in succession. As soon as the peace permeated my body and mind the third time I awoke from the dream. It is not possible for me to adequately express the experiential contrasts in the dream. I went from fearful paralysis to perfect peace in an instant.

Several years later I came across a text in Isaiah that I have often meditated on. Isaiah writes,

 

 

I have not lived under the tyranny of anxiety for a long time now. What a great privilege we have as children of God. We have access to the Father anytime, anywhere. All we have to do is lift our eyes and rest in His love and sovereignty. When we do, his peace fills our souls. There is nothing like walking with our great God!

A beautiful testimony of God's love.  Thank you for sharing, Steve.

I hope it doesn't offend you to point out that there are similarities between your experience and that of a 14-year-old boy named Joseph.

[Jeanne]

19 minutes ago, Steve Noel said:

We are facing some major life changes in the coming months. As I prayed and meditated upon Scripture today I was reminded of how God has worked in my life over the years. Here is a testimony I shared today on Facebook:

I came to Christ in November of 1996 at the age of 21. At that time I was often riddled with anxiety about life. My mind was continually occupied with worry. I did not know what it was like to have internal peace. After a morning church service one Sunday early in 1997 I went home and fell asleep. As I slept, I had a dream from the Lord.

In my dream I was in our church building at night. Nobody else was present. All the lights were off and the darkness was so thick that I could not see my hand right in front of my face. I sensed that there was danger in the darkness. Fear permeated my body and mind. I seemed to know that there were evil spirits throughout the room. I was paralyzed with fear. I could not see. I was straining to see or hear where the danger was at. In my dream I remember being afraid to take a single step lest I walk into a trap. I crouched to the ground trying not to make any noise. Fear was coursing through my body. All my muscles were tense. My heart was racing. That is when I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Trust me." As soon as these words came to me I closed my eyes and all the fear and tension left my body and mind. Immediately I had complete peace.

 

This exact dream was repeated two more times in succession. As soon as the peace permeated my body and mind the third time I awoke from the dream. It is not possible for me to adequately express the experiential contrasts in the dream. I went from fearful paralysis to perfect peace in an instant.

Several years later I came across a text in Isaiah that I have often meditated on. Isaiah writes,

 

 

I have not lived under the tyranny of anxiety for a long time now. What a great privilege we have as children of God. We have access to the Father anytime, anywhere. All we have to do is lift our eyes and rest in His love and sovereignty. When we do, his peace fills our souls. There is nothing like walking with our great God!

Goosebumps on the inside..beautiful.

[Steve Noel]

24 minutes ago, Okrahomer said:

A beautiful testimony of God's love.  Thank you for sharing, Steve.

I hope it doesn't offend you to point out that there are similarities between your experience and that of a 14-year-old boy named Joseph.

No offense taken. Some Evangelicals believe that supernatural experiences ceased with the completion of the Scriptures or death of the apostles. This is known as the doctrine of cessationism. Joseph Smith's account of the initial opposition he received when he told people about the First Vision is interesting. He says that he told a Methodist minister about this vision and he was rebuked because the minister was a cessationist (J.S.H.1:21). 

Edited April 19, 2016 by Steve Noel

[Okrahomer]

16 minutes ago, Steve Noel said:

No offense taken. Some Evangelicals believe that supernatural experiences ceased with the completion of the Scriptures or death of the apostles. This is known as the doctrine of cessationism. Joseph Smith's account of the initial opposition he received when he told people about the First Vision is interesting. He says that he told a Methodist minister about this vision and he was rebuked because the minister was a cessationist (J.S.H.1:21). 

Thank you for that!  While I've known lots of good Christian folk who do not believe in modern spiritual gifts and experiences, I had no idea there was a formal/doctrinal basis for the objection. 

[Robert F. Smith]

3 hours ago, Steve Noel said:

Quote

"Who is among you that fears Yahweh, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of Yahweh and rely on his God." (50:10)

Yes, and Ps 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

[mfbukowski]

17 hours ago, Steve Noel said:

We are facing some major life changes in the coming months. As I prayed and meditated upon Scripture today I was reminded of how God has worked in my life over the years. Here is a testimony I shared today on Facebook:

I came to Christ in November of 1996 at the age of 21. At that time I was often riddled with anxiety about life. My mind was continually occupied with worry. I did not know what it was like to have internal peace. After a morning church service one Sunday early in 1997 I went home and fell asleep. As I slept, I had a dream from the Lord.

In my dream I was in our church building at night. Nobody else was present. All the lights were off and the darkness was so thick that I could not see my hand right in front of my face. I sensed that there was danger in the darkness. Fear permeated my body and mind. I seemed to know that there were evil spirits throughout the room. I was paralyzed with fear. I could not see. I was straining to see or hear where the danger was at. In my dream I remember being afraid to take a single step lest I walk into a trap. I crouched to the ground trying not to make any noise. Fear was coursing through my body. All my muscles were tense. My heart was racing. That is when I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Trust me." As soon as these words came to me I closed my eyes and all the fear and tension left my body and mind. Immediately I had complete peace.

 

This exact dream was repeated two more times in succession. As soon as the peace permeated my body and mind the third time I awoke from the dream. It is not possible for me to adequately express the experiential contrasts in the dream. I went from fearful paralysis to perfect peace in an instant.

Several years later I came across a text in Isaiah that I have often meditated on. Isaiah writes,

 

 

I have not lived under the tyranny of anxiety for a long time now. What a great privilege we have as children of God. We have access to the Father anytime, anywhere. All we have to do is lift our eyes and rest in His love and sovereignty. When we do, his peace fills our souls. There is nothing like walking with our great God!

Beautiful and God bless you.

That is what we call "personal revelation".  We can choose the path of fear and trying to control any eventuality or the path of faith, and fear is a dead end- in fact it is a never ending cycle

I have thought about this many times.  The path of fear is in fact due to pride- the belief that we control our own lives and can handle any eventuality on our own without God.  Living by faith is the opposite- knowing that you must "let go, and let God".  Surrender to his will- as Jesus surrendered his own will- is the only path to peace.

It's odd- or not at all odd- that I turned on my computer to look up quotes on pride for a sermon I am giving in a ward in our Stake on Sunday- and here I find this wonderful post.

Bless you for your great words!

Edited April 19, 2016 by mfbukowski

[boblloyd91]

Thanks Steve, your posts here on the board are great. I know the experience you posted reminded me of some experiences my mom had (with both good and evil) that have been an important part of the development of my faith, which is still developing of course. I have been clinically diagnosed with OCD, and believe that I have been helped at times with this by the Savior. I do think most the time it's just neurons not doing their job, however there have been times I felt the adversary use that against me, so I can definitely relate somewhat to your experience.

[Guest]

On April 19, 2016 at 10:50 PM, Steve Noel said:

No offense taken. Some Evangelicals believe that supernatural experiences ceased with the completion of the Scriptures or death of the apostles. This is known as the doctrine of cessationism. Joseph Smith's account of the initial opposition he received when he told people about the First Vision is interesting. He says that he told a Methodist minister about this vision and he was rebuked because the minister was a cessationist (J.S.H.1:21). 

He was rebuked because he (The minister) believe that the age of miracles had passed. Just as my childhood Church and my father believed. To a degree they are right, those who do not believe in such things do not have the faith for such things to happen in their lives. Thus it becomes a circle of doubt and a state that will not allow such things to happen, or if they do to dismiss them as coming from satan. 

[Rivers]

On April 19, 2016 at 8:19 PM, Steve Noel said:

We are facing some major life changes in the coming months. As I prayed and meditated upon Scripture today I was reminded of how God has worked in my life over the years. Here is a testimony I shared today on Facebook:

I came to Christ in November of 1996 at the age of 21. At that time I was often riddled with anxiety about life. My mind was continually occupied with worry. I did not know what it was like to have internal peace. After a morning church service one Sunday early in 1997 I went home and fell asleep. As I slept, I had a dream from the Lord.

In my dream I was in our church building at night. Nobody else was present. All the lights were off and the darkness was so thick that I could not see my hand right in front of my face. I sensed that there was danger in the darkness. Fear permeated my body and mind. I seemed to know that there were evil spirits throughout the room. I was paralyzed with fear. I could not see. I was straining to see or hear where the danger was at. In my dream I remember being afraid to take a single step lest I walk into a trap. I crouched to the ground trying not to make any noise. Fear was coursing through my body. All my muscles were tense. My heart was racing. That is when I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Trust me." As soon as these words came to me I closed my eyes and all the fear and tension left my body and mind. Immediately I had complete peace.

 

This exact dream was repeated two more times in succession. As soon as the peace permeated my body and mind the third time I awoke from the dream. It is not possible for me to adequately express the experiential contrasts in the dream. I went from fearful paralysis to perfect peace in an instant.

Several years later I came across a text in Isaiah that I have often meditated on. Isaiah writes,

 

 

I have not lived under the tyranny of anxiety for a long time now. What a great privilege we have as children of God. We have access to the Father anytime, anywhere. All we have to do is lift our eyes and rest in His love and sovereignty. When we do, his peace fills our souls. There is nothing like walking with our great God!

Thanks for sharing. I know what you mean by the "tyranny of anxiety."  I sure wish I can get away from that for good.

[Jeanne]

On 4/19/2016 at 8:50 PM, Steve Noel said:

No offense taken. Some Evangelicals believe that supernatural experiences ceased with the completion of the Scriptures or death of the apostles. This is known as the doctrine of cessationism. Joseph Smith's account of the initial opposition he received when he told people about the First Vision is interesting. He says that he told a Methodist minister about this vision and he was rebuked because the minister was a cessationist (J.S.H.1:21). 

This is interesting to me because I went ahead and assumed the minister just simply thought Joseph was "not with the program" but this makes more sense in regard to the ministers actual belief.

[Jeanne]

On 4/20/2016 at 0:04 PM, Pa Pa said:

He was rebuked because he (The minister) believe that the age of miracles had passed. Just as my childhood Church and my father believed. To a degree they are right, those who do not believe in such things do not have the faith for such things to happen in their lives. Thus it becomes a circle of doubt and a state that will not allow such things to happen, or if they do to dismiss them as coming from satan. 

Papa..where are those miracles now though???  Ones that are plainly seen when Jesus was on the earth..or the ones that were told by the saints who saw angels?  Why are those miracle so subtle now if they are even there.  Are we to only believe that those miracles are just answered prayers?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jeanne said:

Papa..where are those miracles now though???  Ones that are plainly seen when Jesus was on the earth..or the ones that were told by the saints who saw angels?  Why are those miracle so subtle now if they are even there.  Are we to only believe that those miracles are just answered prayers?

Jeanne, I sense that your question, "where are those miracles now though", with three question marks reflect frustration on your part, or sarcasm toward my reply. I am sorry if either are implied. There can be found many examples in both testimony and writings by many. As far as how these miracles occur, as answered prayers or as God wills I do not know. But the answer to any prayer, requires faith on the part of the individual that such miracles can occur. On December 7, 2015, just a few short months ago, my wife found me unresponsive around 2:00...upon arrival to the hospital my wife was told to call in all my children as doctors did not think I would live. After calling my children, she then called the Bishop with the faith that the Priesthood was real and that the promises of scripture were real. The Bishop and his First Counselor (both who I taught as young deacons long ago) arrived and game me a Priesthood blessing. Two hours later I was awake, watching TV, waiting for a decent hour to call and thank them. During that night two angels did appear and blessed me. 

When young Joseph prayed in the grove, thankfully he had the faith of a child to believe the scriptures as being true. He was not far enough in years to have been tainted by doubt, or jaded by the Internet with the why's and what for' of the writings of many present and ex-mo's who have nothing left but the Internet to "kick against the pricks". People who not only disbelieve in miracles, but who have also lost the ability to recognize them when they happen. Let me end this with a few words from a poem...

The blind they see no colors

The deaf they hear no voice,

Halt not by birth it seems

But rather so by choice. 

(From the poem, "The Path")

I hope I am wrong and misread your question...my prayers are with you, my Sister. 

[Jeanne]

1 hour ago, Pa Pa said:

Jeanne, I sense that your question, "where are those miracles now though", with three question marks reflect frustration on your part, or sarcasm toward my reply. I am sorry if either are implied. There can be found many examples in both testimony and writings by many. As far as how these miracles occur, as answered prayers or as God wills I do not know. But the answer to any prayer, requires faith on the part of the individual that such miracles can occur. On December 7, 2015, just a few short months ago, my wife found me unresponsive around 2:00...upon arrival to the hospital my wife was told to call in all my children as doctors did not think I would live. After calling my children, she then called the Bishop with the faith that the Priesthood was real and that the promises of scripture were real. The Bishop and his First Counselor (both who I taught as young deacons long ago) arrived and game me a Priesthood blessing. Two hours later I was awake, watching TV, waiting for a decent hour to call and thank them. During that night two angels did appear and blessed me. 

When young Joseph prayed in the grove, thankfully he had the faith of a child to believe the scriptures as being true. He was not far enough in years to have been tainted by doubt, or jaded by the Internet with the why's and what for' of the writings of many present and ex-mo's who have nothing left but the Internet to "kick against the pricks". People who not only disbelieve in miracles, but who have also lost the ability to recognize them when they happen. Let me end this with a few words from a poem...

The blind they see no colors

The deaf they hear no voice,

Halt not by birth it seems

But rather so by choice. 

(From the poem, "The Path")

I hope I am wrong and misread your question...my prayers are with you, my Sister. 

Thank you for your beautiful reply.  I was sincere in asking the question and meant no sarcasm at all.  I respect your thoughts and love the poem.  I am so glad that you are with us in this world.  Peace.  Maybe we just don't hear enough stories like this and from what miracles we hear of in the Bible and JS, we are looking for angels and burning bushes.  Maybe if I had had that kind of faith my husband would still be here with us.  Hugs, Jeanne

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Jeanne said:

Thank you for your beautiful reply.  I was sincere in asking the question and meant no sarcasm at all.  I respect your thoughts and love the poem.  I am so glad that you are with us in this world.  Peace.  Maybe we just don't hear enough stories like this and from what miracles we hear of in the Bible and JS, we are looking for angels and burning bushes.  Maybe if I had had that kind of faith my husband would still be here with us.  Hugs, Jeanne

Prayers are not retroactive, but we can all move forward with faith. There is an old book called, "Temple Manifestations"...maybe start there. God bless. 

[summer22]

I needed this! Thank you!

[Guest]

On April 18, 2016 at 10:50 PM, Steve Noel said:

No offense taken. Some Evangelicals believe that supernatural experiences ceased with the completion of the Scriptures or death of the apostles. This is known as the doctrine of cessationism. Joseph Smith's account of the initial opposition he received when he told people about the First Vision is interesting. He says that he told a Methodist minister about this vision and he was rebuked because the minister was a cessationist (J.S.H.1:21). 

It as something I was taught growing up as a Baptist. But the "doctrine of cessationism" seems to be little more that a shortcut way to denounce anyone who speaks of miracles. It is a condition of the "natural man", to put others (if not everyone) who differs from themselves into tiny little boxes. This way they do need to speed time getting to know someone, the label reels them all they need to know.