Peace

Scriptures: Psalms 29:11, Psalms 119:165, Isaiah 26:3, Isaiah 26:12, Isaiah 32:16-18

As young children, we depended on the support of adults for survival. We’re hardwired to crave and seek that support. I know I am and I got a lot of it as a kid, and deep down I still crave and seek support even when I’m operating in my own individual capacity. But what about when we don’t get the love, validation and support that we need when we need it and from whom it is needed? We feel an instinctive anxiety which almost gives us a feeling of deep dread and pain. As we develop from childhood to toward adulthood, the craving and the need for parental support is gradually replaced by self-reliance. That self-reliance turns into self-efficacy which is defined as one’s capacity to thrive and move about in the world, to achieve success, to overcome perceived challenges and to excel independently. If love, validation and support becomes less available, we get edgy, resistant and irritable. We build a wall, a fence, a block – anything that restricts our freedom while also attempting to protect our peace of mind. 

Could that be why so many adults, young adults especially, are riddled with anxiety and have to work so hard to be comfortable in their own skin? Perhaps it’s rooted in the way we were raised as children or groomed to excel in the culture of hustle and grind. The pursuit of mastery and the cost of ambition becomes a catch 22 because it’s almost impossible to steadily advance toward excellence when one is tied to and preoccupied with praise, achievement and acceptance. You’re trying to balance your survival, your responsibilities, and your livelihood with your own strength, your own will and your own emotional security. Whew… I’m exhausted just thinking about it. And one person with all of that on their plate, if they are not careful, can turn into an anxious, uneasy, and tortured soul. 

This word “peace” is a very elusive and rare commodity. The dictionary defines peace as, “A feeling of calm or not being worried” or “the absence of mental stress or anxiety.” Human beings are drawn to excellence. We know it when we see it. We are naturally attracted to that quality. Very similarly, we see peace in the same way. We like easy and free. It feels good and we are naturally attracted to it – a place, a space, or a person who gives off that energy. Both excellence and peace are simple words to say, but sometimes so much harder words to live, especially consistently. However when we live out these words, there are great rewards. Perhaps the biggest reward is gaining a deeper and more respectful connection to ourselves and to God, and a greater sense of personal power and fulfillment. 

Some would say that peace or specifically peace of mind is the equivalent to being at rest, calm or lack of engagement. Let me suggest the opposite. Peace is much like love. Love and peace are the results of living out God’s promises and commands. And just as we could describe the definition of love, peace can similarly be described to be a feeling, a choice, or an action. Peace as a feeling signals a relationship with God. Peace as a choice says you have a responsibility to God. Peace as an action is showing a total reliance on God. This discovery means you are intentional and deliberate about finding your flow and staying there. Regardless of your circumstances, when at peace, you’ll think it, you’ll feel it, and you’ll do it.

Answer these questions and reflect on your answers: 

What does peace mean to you? 

What does it feel like? 

How do you know you have it?

Affirm and declare these statements:

All is well at this very moment. 

My need for peace is being abundantly met each day. 

Jesus, you are Lord and you are my peace. 

Pray in petition to God to pursue His will and way.

Scriptures: Romans 8:28, Romans 12:16-19, Galatians 5:19-22, Colossians 3:12-15, Philippians 4:6-9

Peace is about having control of your thoughts, and the ability to decide what thoughts to let into your mind and which ones to reject, and which feelings and emotions you let reign in your spirit and which ones you eject. Many times we want to blame our lack of peace on some circumstance. It’s their fault. It’s my fault. It’s the enemy’s fault. It’s God’s fault. But in reality peace has nothing to do with circumstances. The worst times can actually be the best times. Are you only able to achieve peace when everything in your life is just right? Do you have to be relaxed and in perfect harmony to experience peace? Or can you be agitated, disturbed or discouraged and still find peace in those moments no matter the circumstances? And when you know you have faced your circumstances and know you have done everything in your power to achieve a positive result, can you look back and see peace in those situations? 

Romans 8:28 says that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. However, everything that happens is not going to be good. No it won’t. But no matter how awful a situation might be, God can bring peace to your heart. Sure we are in a world that is stress-filled, and seems to be getting more so with each day but God invites us to protect ourselves with his armor and his incredible stability of peace. When life gets tough, you have to remember who you are and whose you are. In everything—in everything—God is working for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. And when you believe it you’ll be reassured that “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) 

What’s the use of taking a broken heart into a new season? Why carry an empty dream into a full life? When you lack peace, you’ll attempt to continue or perpetuate things out of ease or routine just because it’s all you have or all you know. But excellence in peace means choosing to exercise restraint and surge up with power for what would lie ahead. Any kind of undisciplined indulgence has the likelihood of disturbing our peace in the long run. The propensity of peace is not to reveal itself until it’s absent. When you have peace you know it, you feel it. It won’t have to be named or acknowledged. You’ll just know it. But our peace is disturbed when we try to stay in our comfort instead of coming into our calling. God will not let you rest until you walk away from the comfort and pursue excellence in the calling. Self-doubt leads you away from achieving your inner peace but God made you excellent as you are and your job is to uncover it. This happens when you stop looking outside and look within. 

If the lack or absence of peace makes you feel anything, the feeling of mediocrity is at the top of the list. Without peace, you feel scattered, crazy, stressed, depressed, out of place, off path, ineffective, pitiful, distracted and just plain old tired. You need a method to escape mediocrity and get closer to your peace. Mediocrity cannot be prayed away. Mediocrity has to be declared away and worked away and God may give you an uncommon approach to getting rid of it. When you let go of mediocrity, you make room for excellence but you must create that space. Set strong boundaries. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Are you saying yes too often? Remember No is a full sentence. Are you worrying too much about tomorrow or the unknown? Remember each day has enough trouble of its own. Are you making the results of your life irrational? Remember life is but a vapor and that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Are you just plain old doing too much? Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Are you entertaining people and practices that you probably shouldn’t? Remember you get to say who and what stays or goes. 

Eradicating mediocrity through your mouth may require you to ask and praise God for more peace and get into a space of mindfulness. Picking back up to Phillippians chapter 4 and onto verse 8, it says: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 

Live your life holistically and recognize the need for peace. 

Answer these questions and reflect on your answers: 

When others disturb your peace, what is your initial reaction? 

In what ways do you disturbed your own peace?

Affirm and declare these statements:

With God as my refuge, peace will always be within reach. 

I radiate peace to everyone around me. 

Lord, you promised me peace and I shall receive it.

Pray in petition to God to pursue His will and way.

Scriptures: Psalms 4, Psalms 29, Psalms 85, John 14:27, 1 Peter 5:6-7, 2 Thessalonians 3:16

Cultivating peace means that you choose the words you speak to yourself. You deal with the habit of letting your negative internal voice chip away at your self-esteem. And that true positive voice that guides you and has been drowned out by the voice of doubt, shame, anxiety and fear, is becoming less and less prominent to the point where you can barely hear and when it tries to turn up the volume you’ve practiced enough peace to know exactly what to do to silence it. You can renew that voice of peace and it’s beyond time that you uncover yours. 

But there’s good news and bad news. First, the bad news – we are not born knowing how to practice peace. It turns out it’s a skill we have to learn and practice, like riding a bike. Now, the good news is that just as with bike riding, once you learn it, you will always know how to do it, and with a little practice you’ll start to get really good at it. 

It might take years for you to get to this but the passionate pursuit of excellence can lead you there. If you want a sense of peace to stabilize your life, you will keep a positive outlook. It’s in the Philippians passage chapter 4 verse 7 where we find Paul’s words about the “ peace that surpasses all understanding,” that we discover a command to rejoice. Obviously, everything in life won’t cause us to rejoice, but the point is if we want a sense of peace in our lives, we have to cherish and celebrate the positive enough so that we have reason to rejoice. No matter how miserable, awful or horrible situations may become, this too shall pass. Sure, it gets hard to see that when in the midst of the mess, sadness, disappointment or drama, but we should always put things into its proper perspective. 

I won’t offer you any specific practices for peace such as activities, tasks and routines. I have my own so you should be on a journey to find what works best for you. Peace is such a personal process so what brings me peace might actually take yours away. 

Here’s a note that all of us can use and understand: God is our refuge and he will always be our source of peace. 

I’ve discovered that when I live selflessly and purely, and in excellence, I experience peace – the kind that no words can describe. 

Affirm and declare these statements:

I will protect my need for peace. 

I will respect the need for peace in the lives of others. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. 

Pray in petition to God to pursue His will and way.