Got Peace?

A full-blown tantrum.

That’s what I would like to have right now.

A screaming, crying hissy fit that can be heard for miles.

But something won’t let me do it.

Instead I feel a calm amidst the storm I’m in, and I know it has to be supernatural, because it’s not my nature.

Could this be the “peace that passes all understanding?” that Proverbs 3:5-7 talks about?

We continue to have a delay with our new house closing. We thought we had a solution for the missing IRS form we need, but it didn’t work out. Now, with a new plan in hand, it looks like the end is near, but it required the mercy of the sellers, and another week of living in our old house that now belongs to someone else, surrounded by a sea of boxes, and eating take-out food off paper plates.

Another week of feeling unsettled.

Sometimes we all get to the point where we want to cry out and say, “ENOUGH!”

But that’s where God’s peace comes in.

Have you felt it?

It’s the calm that flows through your veins when the diagnosis is scary.

The unusual optimism you experience when the finances are tight.

The strength that kicks in during a situation you have no control over.

Peace is not for a select few.

God promise us all peace (Psalm 85:8).

In John 14:27, Jesus said peace is his parting gift, and because he left us with peace, we are not to be upset or distraught.

So how is that going for you?

When closing out his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul prayed, “Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

Paul seemed to think God’s peace is available 24/7.

At all times.

In every way.

Where are you needing peace in your life?

Pray for it.

Claim it.

Rest in it.

Peace is what makes us Christians different from the rest of the world. When others watch us maneuver through difficulties, they are amazed when we smile, and can carry on a conversation, even when land mines are exploding around us.

That’s why it’s important to ask for this gift of free gift of peace, because when we wear the light of peace on our face, rather than the darkness of worry, we provide a non-verbal introduction to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

“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 3:5-7).