Finding Elusive Peace

WT Stressing Out

 

“For he himself is our peace.”  (Ephesians 2: 14 NIV)

Finding peace.   Isn’t it really one of the core drivers for most of us?  I mean inner peace, spiritual peace, relational peace.  Aren’t most of us obsessed with finding it?

And it’s so frustratingly elusive.  It comes and goes with exasperating frequency.

So what do we do?

We run.  Fill our lives with busyness to stay distracted.

Or we anesthetize.  A little more alcohol.  Another prescription or not so legal drug.

Or we ignore.  Fill up our lives with ever more TV or hobbies.

Sometimes we seek help.  We hope one a visit to the therapist or minister will unlock it.

Yet, I think for most of us deep inside peace remains unpredictable at best.

Finding consistent peace has been a major driver of my life having struggled with depression and anxiety when I was younger as I’ve shared.

Back then I lived at a frantic pace.  In fact I said often if I lived to old age it would be a miracle.  I simply couldn’t slow down.  I never wanted quiet times because of where my mood would drift.  So I filled my life with incessant activity and interaction.

Yet, the darkness always lingered on the fringes.

So when I committed my life to Jesus and he filled me with this unexplainable peace I knew something dramatic had changed.  I had a peace that continued even in the quiet times and that revolutionized my life.

Oh, I still have flashes of the darkness.  And I’ve learned techniques to keep myself from drifting into it.

But I also know I don’t need to go there anymore.  I remind myself often that God has filled me with his peace.  That he lives in me and he is light.

If God has already filled me with his peace then I simply embrace it.  I expect it.  I hang onto it.  I simply don’t allow the darkness in.

And what I’ve found is that the darkness suddenly dissipates.  Warm breezes of hope begin to blow and the clouds lift.  And I’m resting in that unexplainable peace again.

That’s what I love about this passage.  So short yet when I read it again it stopped me in my tracks.

It doesn’t say Jesus will give us peace.  Or he offers us peace.

It says “he is” our peace.  And when he lives in us his peace lives in us as well.

And this peace goes beyond just emotional peace.  He uses the word “shalom” which literally means completeness and wholeness.  I see it unfolding like this.

• First, we have peace with God.  We’re restored to the relationship with God we were meant to have.   Spiritual peace resides at the core.

• Second, because of that we experience inner peace.  God heals our hearts and minds.  He restores us to who he designed us to be.

• Then third, out of that grows relational peace.  For if we live in peace our relationships will be more peaceful.  Our relationships become complete.

And when we realize that our perspective changes.  We expect that peace and wholeness.  We look for it.

When the darkness threatens we refuse to succumb.  Instead we can think, “No, I don’t need to go there.  My calling is higher.  My way is in the light.  And I will live in that light because I have the power to.”

And suddenly everything changes again.  We’re given strength in the moment.  And we discover peace and wholeness one more time.

Personal peace really is a choice.

How has God given you his peace?