Your One Wants Peace

As a church’s Ninety-nines look to reach and grow their Ones, it is critically important to understand, intellectually and emotionally, what your Ones are looking for. 

Embracing your desires and emotions is an excellent way to discover your Ones’ desires and feelings. 

This hit me hard last week. 

I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, and they mentioned Dallas Willard’s book, “Life Without Lack”, which I have never read. 

I looked it up. The description says, 

Pause for a moment and ask yourself what your life would be like if it were completely without fear? If you did not fear death. If you did not fear life and what it might bring. If you did not fear any man, or woman, or any living creature. 

The teaching in Life Without Lack revolutionizes our understanding of Psalm 23 by taking this comfortably familiar passage and revealing its extraordinary promises: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.... I will fear no evil.” The Psalmist claims to live without any need and without any fear. How is that possible?

Willard explains that a sheep will not “lie down in green pastures or walk beside quiet waters” as long as they are hungry and thirsty.

This imagery stunned me. I have read this passage for 40+ years, yet the imagery of the peace and contentment of the sheep, who has been provided for by God, had escaped me.

That’s what I want. I yearn for that level of contentment and peace in a world that is full of chaos and uncertainty. 

And if I wanted to dismiss this level of peace as an anomaly reserved for good times, the Psalmist throws in the line about “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” without fear.

Humans want, need, and crave a sense of peace and contentment.

There are many things we believe will provide it for us: money, the right government leaders, the right house in the right neighborhood, and so on.

Intuitively, we know none of these are big enough to provide it, but we continue to put our faith and hope in them. 

As you lead your Ninety-nine to reach their Ones, talk about how we all crave peace and contentment. 

Ask your Ninety-nine to be honest about what they think will provide that. 

And one of the most powerful things you can teach them is to admit that they are still not getting it right.

For example, before I started typing this post. I was feeling super anxious. (Unfortunately, this is common for me.) So, I read Psalm 23 slowly. I journaled it in my own words. I wrote out a prayer to God, begging for his provision for me and my family. 

I’m still learning to be that content sheep, and being honest about that is quite attractive to Ones.