“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
What many people would give to have some peace in their
lives. You know the type. Their lives are in constant confusion and
turmoil. One problem after another.
Problems with relationships, finances, health issues, it is a long list. What
Paul wrote about and encouraged the Philippian church to do is what I am
encouraging you to do. Don’t look to the world, the absence of difficulty, for
peace, because you won’t find it. The
world we live in is corrupted – broken – fraught with problems. Becoming a
Christian does not exempt us from the problems of this world.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever
you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.” – James 1:2-4
When we were serving in Haiti, I was intrigued by the names
shop owners gave to their store fronts. Mesi Jezi (Thank you Jesus) Auto Parts. But one in particular
was the building supply store I would use and pass every day – Perseverance. It
reminded me of James 1 and helped give me perspective on the difficulties we
faced serving in Haiti. And the difficulties have not ended because we no
longer live in Haiti.
God has made a way for us to have and know peace in spite of
the world we are living in.
“Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed
him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over
the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying,
‘Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!’” – Matthew 8:23-25
Let’s look at what happened in that boat for a minute. In the midst of a furious storm, waves
sweeping of the boat – I don’t think it was a very big boat – Jesus was
sleeping. He was probably getting wet. The disciples – many of them with years
for experience as fishermen, were convinced they were about to die. So what did
they do? They woke Jesus up. That’s right – they woke Him up. Don’t you think they might have had a clue
that if Jesus was sleeping that He knew something that they didn’t know? Like
the fact that they were not going to die. These guys had Jesus with them and
still they were overwhelmed by their circumstances. They lacked the peace that
obviously Jesus had.
“ [Jesus] replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so
afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was
completely calm.” – Matthew 8:26
Jesus laid out the problem for them. They lacked peace because they lacked faith.
And so they were fearful. They lacked spiritual perspective. The storm did not
really matter. Jesus did not have to calm the waves. They could have rode it
out, following Jesus lead. But they lacked the faith to do that and Jesus knew
it.
It is possible that we can ride out any storm in life – have
the same peace that Jesus had – but only by faith. That kind of peace is a fruit of the Spirit.
(Galatians 5) It is not something that you can fake. You can try to look peaceful on the outside –
impress other Christians – and be erupting on the inside. The peace of God is there for you. You can
have peace in spite of the storms that rage in your life. But it takes faith. If you don’t have that
peace – it is a faith problem. If you
are looking for peace – you will find it in Jesus.
No Jesus – No Peace, Know Jesus – Know Peace
Think about it, then pray about it.
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