As I ponder how often I have felt peace, most of my life if I have experienced peace it has been because the world around me feels quiet, most often in nature. It has only been recently that I have experienced moments of a peaceful heart, mind and spirit even when the world around me is not serene. The dictionary defines peace as many different things from tranquility and order to freedom from civil disturbance. If I think about an average day for myself, I find most days really lack an exterior calmness. There are deadlines to meet, bills to be paid, heavy traffic with impatient drivers, frustrated people to deal with, problems to be solved, a never ending to-do list and the world seems to get a little crazier every day. If my peace depends on my circumstances, the world or things I need to think about; I will find very few moments of peace. Yet, I believe that God intends something much more than worldly peace, perhaps a quiet in my soul that comes from within.

Peace is listed as fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5, so I know that it is a gift from God which indicates more than tranquil circumstances, a lack of conflict or based on anything that is outside of me. As I look at the meaning of Biblical peace, the root word shalom; it is related to completeness, wholeness and perfection which I can never achieve myself. It is only through Jesus that I can restore my oneness with God. In Isaiah 9:6, one of many Old Testament prophecies about Jesus, it says He will be called prince of peace. Ironically, His life here on earth was anything but peaceful and yet He brought us peace. From His birth through His sacrificial death, burial, resurrection until now, the name of Jesus has ruffled feathers and brought conflict…yet He is peace. For me to begin to experience that peace, it has to start with Jesus and the Holy Spirit in my heart and work its way out, not the other way around.

In the gospel of John, Jesus is telling His disciples about what is going to happen and then in John 16:33 says “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.” As I look at this verse, it is clear that I will have difficulties in this life because I am physically in this world. Some of my troubles will be external with the world around me and some may be internal such as fears or stress and anxiety. However, all of my battles are spiritual and Jesus clearly states that in His overcoming, I may have peace. So why have I only recently begun to experience more of His peace despite my circumstances?

I think my answer lies in the disconnect between how I thought I was living out my faith and the reality of what I was actually doing. I knew things I was supposed to do and a lot of the right answers and yet I now know that I was actually trying to control the world around me. My prayers were my desires, expecting God to magically grant my wishes as if He was a genie and most of them revolved around removing my pain and suffering for myself and others. When I handed stuff over to God, it was mostly lip service because I would usually take it right back, sometimes only believing I let it go. In my pride, I believed that I was living out my faith well and yet I did not live my life in a way that depended on Him. I think it all boils down to one word and idea that is encapsulated by Isaiah 26:3.

Isaiah 26:3 says ‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.’ My lack of peace boils down to the word trust. I thought that I trusted God, however somewhere in my faith journey I ended up believing that I could trust no one but myself. If I wanted it done ‘right’ I had to do it myself because God didn’t give me the answers I wanted and so desperately desired. I refused to accept my life and was not living in the harmony of my completeness with God. The middle of this verse provides me with the one instruction I need to restore my wholeness in Him through Jesus: keep my mind fixed on Him. The singular best way for me to exercise my trust in God is to not focus outward on people or things outside myself or inward on my wants or thoughts, but rather upward to my heavenly Father. The glimpses I have had of His perfect peace, the peace that surpasses understanding, can come only from the security in a relationship with the Father, as I trust Him wholly and completely. 

Practice for Today 

I will choose to notice the familiar physical signs of my lack of peace; such as: churning in my stomach, tightened shoulders and stiff neck, or overtiredness. I will be aware when I am struggling to make decisions, have trouble focusing, or my mind is spinning the same thoughts over and over as I sign that I have lost my oneness with the only one who provides my serenity. I will choose to fix my eyes on Him and acknowledge that Jesus gives peace, unlike the world which saps it. He said my heart does not need to be troubled and I do not need to be afraid. I will do whatever it takes to pursue peace and cultivate my relationship with the only one who can grow the fruit of shalom in my heart, mind and spirit through His Spirit.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Philippians 4:4-7   Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.