Choosing Peace

Peace. 

A lake as still as glass, reflecting the beauty of the sun, sky, and trees. 

A beautiful meadow in morning light, shimmering with dew.

Time alone in a completely quiet, clean house with a cup of tea and a book.

How idyllic, restful, and wonderful. I want to sit by that lake, walk through that meadow, and be still in that house. I want to go searching for peace and when I find it, curl up and hide for a long time.

And yet, those images of peace are so elusive and unrealistic. My world is chaotic, busy, loud, and moving at a speed that sometimes makes me wonder if I’ll ever catch up. It is unpredictable and full of change. In short, it is often the antithesis of peace.

Scripture is full of beautiful promises of peace, but it seems that I rarely experience the power and rest of Christ’s peace. Maybe that is because I grasp for peace – try to find it myself or demand it on my own terms at the time I want it. When my efforts at experiencing peace fail, then I give up, dismiss peace as something that does not work in my world. It’s too hard to find, too hard to get, and too hard to keep.

Wise writers like Elisabeth Elliot, Lilias Trotter, and Amy Carmichael speak of quietness of heart. Throughout their writings, I see a strain of underlying peace. Peace with God, peace with who God created them to be, and peace with where He has placed them. In Thomas Chisholm’s beautiful hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness, we find the lines “Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth.”

A peace that endures. Hmm. I’m thrilled if I can experience just five minutes of peace. My tired, anxious mind longs for the freedom of peace. What am I missing?

The still, small voice answers, “Me. You are missing Me.” 

Reading the next line of Chisholm’s hymn gives me the same answer: “Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide.”

In her book Grace for the Good Girl, Emily Freeman writes, “Quiet time is a description of what happens when I am with God. Time can be a loud, chaotic, rushing-around companion. But as I sit in the presence of God, He quiets my time….There is great value, beauty, and rest to be found in spending time and being quiet with the Lord of the Universe” (149).

“The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee peace.”

 – Numbers 6:26

It is Christ who gives peace. He offers it freely to me. I need only to receive it, not just during my time of devotions and prayer or the quiet moments of life, but throughout the busyness of my day.

“Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”

 – Colossians 3:15

I need to let go and let God provide, work, renew, strengthen, and bless. I must abide in Him, soak in His Word, and accept His rest. It is a conscious choice on my part to say no to anxiety and yes to Christ. It means turning my focus upward, meditating on His Word, and keeping my mind on Him.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose

mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”

 – Isaiah 26:3

Trusting, receiving, and responding to Christ “doesn’t require an entire day of quiet reflection, although I wouldn’t turn it down. It is purposing in my heart not to fret. It is allowing the day to go as it will. It is holding up my plans with an open hand and a willing heart” (Grace for the Good Girl, 148).

Amy Carmichael wrote that in acceptance lies peace. This means acceptance both of peace itself and what God has ordained for our lives in each moment, each situation. Peace comes when I rest in who Christ is – faithful, loving, merciful, tender, all-powerful, sovereign, almighty. Elisabeth Elliot writes, “Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.”

This means that I can choose peace in the midst of chaos. 

I can have a quiet heart despite the frantic pace of my day or when everything seems to go wrong because I know He gives enough strength for each day and works all things together for good. 

I can experience Christ's peace when I am paged out for a 911 call and go driving ninety miles per hour down the highway in an ambulance with lights flashing and sirens wailing because my all-knowing God knows exactly what awaits me on scene.

I can rest peacefully in Christ during the times of waiting when I am unsure of the next step because I know He holds all things in His hands and promises to direct my path. 

“To remain in Him means both to sit with Him and to walk with Him, to literally let the peace of Christ reduce the noise of worry and the clatter of chaos so that we can receive truth” (Grace for the Good Girl, 149). If I let worry, anxiety, and fear steal my peace, then I have let Satan win. He does not want me to experience Christ’s peace, so he will do whatever he can to rob it.  Peace is found when I abide in Christ, regardless of my circumstances or where I am. His peace is always there, waiting for me to accept it.

“‘For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;

but My kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall

the covenant of My peace be removed,’ saith the Lord

that hath mercy on thee.”

 – Isaiah 54:10