Where Is Peace to Be Found? (Part 1)
In the congregations where I serve we recently worked through a special Bible study called “The Keys to a Christian’s Peace.” This is such a pertinent and important topic that I’m sharing some of the “keys to peace” here. I pray they are a blessing!.
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Virtually everyone in the world longs for more personal peace. The only ones who don’t long for more peace have the path to peace figured out, but they are few. (And when I write “few,” I mean almost no one!)
The rest of us, (that is, almost everyone!), are on a desperate quest to discover this precious treasure.
The people living for the world look to the world to supply peace. They chase wealth, success, power, influence, relationships, solitude, hobbies, and fun to try to find it; they dash down any multitude of paths to try to capture it.
But inner peace can’t be discovered, manufactured, earned, bought, bartered for, grown or created. In fact, the harder peace is pursued, the more elusive it becomes.
And especially when one factors in the uncertainty of life in this world. The longer one lives, the more it becomes evident that there are no sure things. How does one find peace in the face of continual and all-encompassing uncertainty?
Nevertheless, Christians have the keys to inner peace!
Unfortunately, too often we leave the God-given keys to our peace underutilized … or unused altogether! Consequently, our personal peace is compromised.
This is NOT what our Lord intends for us.
Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. [That is, half-way and temporarily! Therefore,] do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).
That’s a pretty profound promise followed with a pretty clear and straight-forward command. So what’s the issue?
It’s us! It’s you and me! We do not trust our God to take care of us and the situations we find ourselves in, or the uncertainties we face … despite his profound promises.
God tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
What are we NOT to do? “Lean on our own understanding!”
What ARE we to do? “Trust in the Lord with all our heart; submit to him in all our ways!”
What does God assure us when we do rely upon him completely? “I will make your paths straight.”
There it is – the single most important key to peace: COMPLETELY TRUSTING OUR GOD.
The Bible is a book filled with astounding and reassuring promises from the almighty, all-knowing, eternal, ever-present and always-loving God. The problem with our lack of peace is not due to a lack of our God’s faithfulness. Rather, it is because of our lack of faithfulness in embracing his promises.
One of the principles we returned to over and over again in our peace Bible study is what I called “The Simple “P” Summary.” It is indeed simple. But it’s also profound, and we need to put it more in play in our lives.
The Simple “P” Summary
Where we should NOT focus … but often DO:
our Problems
Where we SHOULD focus … but often do not:
God’s Promises of Provision and Protection
The point is that all too often our minds become obsessed with the difficulties and uncertainties we face. They dominate our attention … which in turn undermines our inner peace.
What we typically neglect to focus on are the myriad assurances – promises! – our God gives us about how he will take wonderful care of us.
This is not to say that we ignore the logical, practical steps we should take to address the challenges we face. We do what we can. This is Godly, good stewardship.
But what we DON’T do is dwell on them and the what-ifs. We DON’T obsess about them, worry about them, or let them overwhelm us. Rather, we turn our attention to our God and the promises he has provided us.
The better we become at doing this … focusing on God and his promises … the more peace we will experience in our lives.
This is what the very few who don’t long for more peace do. They have learned that relying on their loving God and his promises are the path to peace.
It turns out that the inner peace that seems so elusive … is not so elusive after all. (Though it’s still too rarely found even by believers.)
God grant that more of us join the ranks of the “at-peace people” by casting all our anxiety on the Lord. He really and truly cares for us! (1 Peter 5:7).
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John 16:33
[Jesus said,] “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
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2 thoughts on “Where Is Peace to Be Found? (Part 1)”
Pastor, my daughter has that peace. You and I wrote to each other a few weeks ago about her cancer diagnosis. She has not complained. Ever. Not once. She awakens every day with a smile on her face and goes throughout her day as though she has not a care in the world. She knows this reality is just temporary. She has the “peace that passes all understanding.”
That is awesome that she has this peace! It is a blessing to her … and to all who know her! My prayers continue to be with her and your entire family as you go through the trial. Thanks for sharing, Linda!