Pursuing Perfect Peace in an Imperfect World

Is your world unsettled right now? Are you struggling? Maybe you have a loved one who is in poor health, or you’ve recently lost someone dear to you. Maybe the pressures of life itself are overwhelming you. Or maybe something unexpected has robbed your happiness and brought you to a place of sorrow or desperation. Maybe you just have some uncertainty or anxiety due to our current state and trying to anticipate what’s lurking around the corner. It seems there is so much up in the air in this time we’re living in. There’s the normal cra-cra of the times, and then we add “Rona” on top of it and we feel defeated.

As an educator, this is normally a very exciting time of year for me. Typically, we are gearing up for the new year, planning to implement new ideas, new structures, and new curriculum along with new materials. I get excited to meet new students, families, and staff. And it’s so much fun to plan for school events, decorate the halls, and schedule the beloved food trucks and jean days for our staff. But this year is so different. In my 18 years of starting back to school, I’ve never faced anything like what our education system, students, families, and staff are about to experience. It’s hard to push away the anxiety. My heart is hurting for so many reasons and so many people affected by changes due to Rona.

I’m in a Bible Study with a group of staff members from my school and last week’s lessons were filled with verses that seemed to center around one theme: PEACE. The first verse I came across was a scripture I mentioned at the end of last week’s blog post. In Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah is prophesying the birth of Jesus and he says,

“He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Two of these names of Jesus absolutely overwhelmed me: Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace.

During this time of uncertainty and confusion, I could absolutely use a Wonderful Counselor whom I have 24-hour access to. He’s never too busy to meet with me, He doesn’t restrict our counseling sessions to 30 minutes or an hour, and He will always lead me in the right direction with concise guidance.

The name Prince of Peace leaves me in awe. The peace that we have access to through a relationship with Jesus is truly underrated. Think about that for just a moment. True Peace! When I googled the definition for peace, the first hit I found said, “freedom from disturbance; tranquility.” Doesn’t that sound wonderful, amazing, carefree… and hard to fathom? There are so many pieces of goodness from God that are hard for me to wrap my mind around. I went a little deeper and looked up the biblical definition of peace. The insights of www.encyclopedia .com state that the word peace “has a wide semantic range including the notions of totality or completeness, success, fulfillment, wholeness, harmony, security and well-being.” Umm… I would like to put in my order for one extra-large serving of all of that!!! Wouldn’t you? And here’s the thing- God won’t get our order wrong or even a little off. A little later in the book of Isaiah (chapter 26, verse 3), the prophet says,

“You will keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

Perfect Peace- as if plain ole peace isn’t enough? He gives perfect peace.

But friends, let us not miss the precursor to the peace- “whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Peace is like this big, beautifully wrapped present on Christmas morning. The present has no real significance or function until it is unwrapped. That’s how I am starting to see peace in God. It’s a gift- a beautiful, priceless, extraordinary gift that God has offered us. But it has to be unwrapped. We have to keep our minds on God and trust. These words are so easy to type into this post, but not so easy to follow. When the challenges are knocking on my door or busting through the windows, my first inclination is to think about how they affect me negatively, to think about how they inconvenience me and get in the way of how I planned things to go, and to think about me, me, me. This is not the pathway to peace. My way of thinking is on a fast track to a mental breakdown, driven by an evil villain called self-pity. God’s ways are so much greater… perfect peace! Perfect. Peace!

In Pursuit of Peace

In the back of my NIV Study Bible, there’s a concordance that lists all the references to different words in the Bible. I looked up “peace” and counted all the references. There are 100. 100! That sounds pretty perfect to me! As I chased this peace through God’s Word, I found another verse that caught my attention. In Psalm 34:14, David instructs,

“Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."

Pursue peace? What does that look like? I know Isaiah told us to keep our thoughts on God and trust in Him. But how? When stressors try to smother us, how do we keep our thoughts on Him? I want to say that this is easy, but I’d be lying. I can be sidetracked into the depths of woe-is-me very easily.

As I continued to read down through the list of verses referencing peace, I came to one of my very favorite scriptures. I think it may have our roadmap to peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Before we dive in, may I just be honest about something? I really wish it didn’t say, ”Do not be anxious about anyting.” Instead, I wish it said, “Do not be anxious about most things.” This would let me off the hook and wouldn’t convict me so much. But that’s not what he said. The command was to not be anxious about anything… big, small, short-term, long-term, expensive, inexpensive, hurtful, inconvenient… an-y-thing! Realy??? Whew! Help me, Jesus! Ok, confession over. Let’s move on!

Next, the author of Philippians, Paul, said to present requests to God, but there’s a little more to it. He gives very clear details:

· Every Situation- Paul is very specific- in every, single situation, big or small

· By Prayer and Petition- It strikes me as interesting that Paul mentions prayer and petition. I petition in my prayers. I wonder why he felt the need to separate the two. I did a little research on this and numerous commentators reported that the first part, prayer, refers to worshipping God in our prayer. The word petition is referencing the asking portion of our prayer.

· With Thanksgiving- this one is a hard pill to swallow. Paul doesn’t say, “with thanksgiving when things are going well.” He says “in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving…”. I take this to mean even when things aren’t going the way we want them to or the way we had planned, we need to approach God with a thankful heart. I believe this is the key we so often miss. I’ve heard it said, “It’s hard to be stressed when you’re feeling blessed.” This is so true! When we reflect on all God has done for us, all He’s given us, all He’s brought us through, and the very nature of who He is, it’s a lot easier not to be anxious.

· Present your Requests- Paul is giving us full permission to make our requests. God knows our heart and He wants to give us the desires of our heart (within His will).

The next section of this passage in Philippians fills me with confident expectation every time I read it. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. Isn’t that exactly what we need- a peace that breaks through our human capabilities? I do not have what it takes to have peace in every situation. But God does. All we have to do is ask Him. When we do, He protects our heart and our mind. I find so much comfort in this. I need this protection from negativity in my heart and mind, selfish thoughts, and wasted energy fixated on things outside of my control. I have taken lightly this perfect peace that guards my heart and my mind. What a gift!

This pursuit of peace needs to become a habit in my daily life. The pursuit is not a one and done type of plan. This is a constant, every day, in the moments scattered throughout the day type of communication plan with the Lord. I can pray for peace in the morning, take one step out the door, and be right back in the pits of my mind’s despair.

Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to get me tangled up in an anxious merry-go-round where I feel like I will be flung off at any moment. It reminds me of the story of Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). Peter started to walk on the water towards Jesus and Jesus told him not to be afraid. But then Peter saw the wind and he was afraid. As soon as Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he doubted and began to sink. Aren’t we just like Peter sometimes? We know we can trust in God to take care of us, but as soon as we take our eyes off of Him, we begin to sink. I need to remember this roadmap to pursuing peace so I’ll stop sinking. Let’s summarize these verses again:

1) Don’t be anxious.

2) Worship God with a thankful approach.

3) Ask him for what you want/need (within his will).

4) Trust that His peace will break down your walls of doubt and negativity.

A Thankful Heart

One more verse I found on peace that I really love can be found in Colossians 3:15.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

I truly want my heart to be ruled by peace and not by fear, anxiety, uncertainty, or doubt. This verse says we are called to peace. God is chasing after us, calling us to accept his gift of peace. I love the simplicity of the last part of this verse. “And be thankful.” It seems like this idea of being thankful keeps popping up, doesn’t it?

Have you ever looked up quotes about a thankful heart? I found a few that I’d like to share:

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” ~Eckhart Tolle

“The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us.” ~ James E. Faust

“It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful.” ~ David Steindl-Rast

I would like to add to these quotes: A thankful heart opens our eyes to vibrantly see goodness in all things and repels negativity and doubt.

Change the View

What do you see right now when you examine your current state? Do you see chaos, uncertainty, anxiety, fear, unrest? What would happen if you were to stop right now and take Paul’s advice? If you told anxiety that he’s not welcome anymore, you lifted your eyes to Jesus, worshipping Him and thanking Him for all He’s done, and you made an honest, desperate request to Him, what would happen? If you trusted that he would break through your mental and emotional limitations and He would guard your heart and mind from stinkin’ thinkin’, how would things change for you? There are so many of us who get down in the valley’s of life and we wallow there, like pigs in the slops. (No, that is not a fat joke.). It is time to change our view. It’s time to climb the mountain and l see the big picture God has painted before us. Life is hard, but we have so much to be thankful for. When I have friends who are in the midst of extreme struggle- nothing seems to be working out and they feel beat down- I ask them before the day ends to make a list of everything they can think of they have to be grateful for. I have to do this myself on the really hard days. I’ve never once had anyone come back to me and say, “That didn’t work.” Instead, an overwhelming feeling of gratitude takes the reins.

We are in crazy times right now. It’s a waste of our brain cells to try to figure out what tomorrow holds. In Matthew 6:34, Scripture even tells us,

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

As I plan for a new school year, I’ve been repeating three reminders over and over:

1) Love people well!

2) Stay Positive!

3) Focus on my circle of control!

After chasing after the pursuit of peace, I’m going to add a few more reminders:

4) Count my blessings.

5) Fix my eyes on Jesus.

One of the final lessons in our Bible Study last week lead us to the moments when Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection. What struck me in this short passage (John 20:19-29) was Jesus appeared to the disciples two times and both times, the first words He said were, “Peace be with you!” The first time He appeared to them, he actually said the words twice. This is very telling. Jesus had just risen from the dead, He’s reunited with his closest friends and three times, He repeated these words. It was and still is important to Jesus that His followers experience true and perfect peace. Struggles, hard times, challenges, bad days, and heartache will always be a part of our lives. That’s for sure. But what’s also guaranteed is God’s promise of his perfect peace. Let’s chase after it, Friends. “PEACE BE WITH YOU!”