The Peace Potential

Where do you go to find peace? Maybe by switching off and switching on Netflix? A self care evening? Booking a holiday?

Society suggests that if you're not happy about your life, escape, or change it, but the Bible teaches us to take a different approach.

An example that I find funny is in Disney's The Lion King, after Simba's father was murdered by his uncle who was also out to kill him, he flees the situation, gets found by Timon and Pumbaa who's solution is "Hakuna Matata" (Queue the music!) "It means no worries for the rest of your days..." LOL, just don't worry about it Simba! The world tells us to run away, flee, ignore our troubles and that way we will find peace.

There is no rest for a man until he rests in God. The reason why this world is so full of excitement is because it is so empty of peace, and the reason why it is so empty of peace is because it is so void of God. - Alexander Maclaren

We can either seek worldly peace, or God's peace. Worldly peace is based on distraction, but what is Godly peace?

I'd like to explore a bit about how God's peace is 1) A gift, 2) A guide, looking at how we can find and lean into it.

Peace: The Gift

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to 'rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.' What makes this verse so profound is it tells us that God's will isn't that we are grateful FOR all circumstances, but that we are grateful IN all circumstances. It's not about where we are in the world, but rather, what is happening in our hearts.

"When you stop praying for your circumstances to change and start praying for your heart to change... that's when God comes in and fights on your behalf" - Sadie Robertson

God's peace isn't dependant on our situation, but our heart. It doesn't always make sense that we can be peaceful no matter what is happening in our life, but that is the gift God gives us: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:7

The word "understanding" from this verse is used in the Bible to describe the mind, God's peace transcends our mind, in other words, it surpasses our own logic, thoughts, feelings and intentions. We cannot fathom it without experiencing it for ourselves.

Shalom not only surpasses our understanding, but it also guards/keeps our hearts and minds through focus on the Prince of Peace, Jesus. This rest doesn't mean escaping the difficulties of life, but rather approaching your circumstances with an inner focus that centres you.

How do we find this central peace? Well, considering that God himself is the source of peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16, Ephesians 2:14), the Bible teaches us that to centre our lives around God is to follow His guide to life.

Israel, who were in a covenant with God, continually turned against Him and chose sin, worshipping other Gods. This never landed well, but God continually redeemed them when they turned back to Him. In Isaiah, where God shows mercy on Israel yet again, He speaks to the people about what could have been if they had followed in His ways: If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. -Isaiah 48:18

The more we are obedient to Gods commands and keep a close relationship with Him, the more we experience His peace. We lay our lives down so that His will washes over us like running water.

Are there barriers keeping you from putting God first and therefore enabling you to experience God's peace? Is there something you need to repent/turn away from?

The potential for Peace is produced through our faith and obedience. In Galatians 5:22, Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. The fruits of the spirit, including peace, is something produced within us, unearthed and nurtured in our hearts as we practice closeness with our father.

We all fail daily, none of us are perfect. The important thing is that our hearts are close to God and we recognise and work on turning away from sin regularly.

Peace: The Guide

Are you letting peace guide you?

A guide for decision making

I know for myself and friends, we have found that when we are close to God, His peace becomes our guide.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. - Colossians 3:15

From this verse, the Greek word for "let rule" is brabeuō, described as 'to be an umpire' - the director, the decider. A heart full of shalom is guided by it - we should be possessed by peace so that we are acutely aware of where there isn't peace.

The more we eat or drink something, the more tolerant we become, our brain conditions our body to become less responsive. When people stop eating sugar, sugary foods taste even sweeter, In fact, we have bred fruit to become sweeter, so sweet that zoo animals can't eat it anymore! I have (and never will) give up sugar, but I did stop drinking alcohol 4.5 years ago and it has become so potent and bitter that I have no desire for it. The more we give into temptation, the more tolerant we become, and it starts to not feel like sin at all. We need to awaken our senses by seeking God's peace.

When making decisions, whether it's something small like how to respond to an angry email, or big like choosing whether to marry the person you're dating, we will feel a sense of peace or discomfort. Leaning into God's peace doesn't mean ignoring the discomfort, but becoming more aware of it, leaning in, and letting peace guide us, Andy Stanley says, "pay attention to the tension", until we understand where peace is directing us/what the right decision is.

Just because something feels uncomfortable at first, doesn't mean it's not right, in fact, the right path can often feel like the most uncomfortable. That's why we need God's peace, so that we can see the map through His lense rather than our own. This will require a bit of patience and trust: 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

A guide during trouble

It's particularly difficult to keep our focus and trust in God during difficult seasons of life, when the sea rages.

In Matthew 14, we learn of the story where Jesus walks on water. We remember the amazing spectacle of Jesus performing the miraculous, but the disciples also went through a tortuous ordeal.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it (Matt 14:22-24).

The Greek word for 'buffeted' can also be translated to to test, to torture. The boat was being tormented by the waves. Left in the threatening water for most of the night, I'm sure the disciples were distressed and feeling abandoned by Jesus.

When Jesus walks towards them and reveals himself, the disciples are terrified, yet one of them, Peter, asks Jesus to invite him out onto the water:

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down (Matt 14: 25-32).

Jesus didn't calm the sea to make it easier for Peter to walk on the water, it was down to Peter to trust Jesus. His faith had him walking on the water towards Him, so it was when he took his focus off Jesus and onto the storm around him that he started to sink. He lost that central stillness.

It's the same for us today, when we take our central focus off Jesus and doubt his integrity, we sink. But if we practice trusting in him, the storm won't stop, but we won't waiver. Instead of helplessly sinking beneath the raging waves, Jesus helps us to walk on top of them.

So, whilst worldly peace is based on distraction, Godly peace is based on a central stillness.

Whilst we can find peace through obedience and closeness to our heavenly Dad, resting in His Shalom is not logical, it's a practice, an art form. Life comes with challenges and troubles, so God gives us the opportunity to learn how to lean into His peace to provide a central stillness during turmoil, trusting that He will get us through the storm.

I hope this helps you think of ways you can further your closeness to Jesus as it did for me.

Lots of love x