“Timothy, you are like a son to me in the things of the Lord. May God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord show you his kindness and mercy and give you great peace of heart and mind” - 1st Timothy 1:2 (TLB)
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
I have really been impacted lately at the power of peace in my body, heart and soul. I think I spend so much time pushing through life for happiness and success that I drive myself crazy with the chaos. That I live so much by my own power, that I lose site of what God is trying to do and could do in my life. And when we try to do things on our own power, at some point stress and chaos take over. Even if I am successful, it lacks something if I have done it in my own power.
Peace. The fresh breath of contentment. The wave of encouragement in the midst of risk. The clear conviction in a difficult decision. The ability to feel calm in the middle of persecution and defamation. As I try to align myself with God and his purpose for my life, I desire peace more and more. Not necessarily comfort, or an easy life, or perfect relationships, or a lack of conflict; I desire peace more. Because all those other things are going to happen if you are passionately following Jesus and making him the absolute first in your life. But peace from God is the solid rock to stand on despite those things.
I want the peace to follow God’s direction in my life, even if it makes no sense at all to those around me. The peace to trust God with the details of messy situations. The peace to let things go that have hurt me to seek God’s purpose in the relationship. The peace to take risks despite the timing. The peace to love people like Jesus did, even if I know they will never understand or reciprocate it. The peace to forgive. The peace to see myself as God sees me no matter what failures or successes I have.
For this time in my life, I have a strong sense of God’s peace. Not like I am glowing or anything, but I can just sense his calm and his confidence. And for all the times in the past few months that I haven’t felt the peace of God, I realize that he was moving in my heart to draw me close to him and point me towards his will for my life. That he gets our attention by letting us try to do things on our own, and when peace leaves and chaos comes we start looking for him again.
I have been praying the verses at the top of this article for my life and the lives of people I know all day. And it has been good for my heart and refreshing for my spirit to be still and know God is in control. Seek Peace.
