Phones ringing. Clocks sounding. Inboxes reminding us that we are summoned, our presence requested, and our time is no longer ours. Sound familiar? I thought that it might, as the majority of us are hard pressed in this ever-accessible, ever-eager-to-communicate world to carve out even fifteen minutes of quietness and serenity.
My initial inclination was to say that we can barely carve out a few moments of peace, but the reality is that, for many of us, peace is a concept that is so far removed from us and our lives that we would scarcely recognize it were it to show up on our doorsteps wearing a bright red bow.
How exactly did we arrive here, at this point? That question carries with it numerous answers. I suspect that one of the most pressing answers is that we have either lost sight of or never understood in the first place the fact that peace is our right. It is not an afterthought, a suggestion, a nice idea, or a myth. Peace, God’s perfect peace, which surpasses all understanding, is our right. Our right.
Jesus calls our attention to this when he says in John 14:27 AMP:
Peace I leave with you, my perfect peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled. [Allow my perfect peace to calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]
I must admit that I truly only began to grasp this reality within the past year or so, and even since then I have continued to struggle with it. Though I know in my heart that it is true, I have struggled with the application of this truth to my life. You see, it is one thing to know something to be true – to be aware of something – but it is another thing to put what you have learned into action, especially in this world that is full of stressors and distractions, all of which seem to serve to awaken our emotions to their desired form of expression.
One thing that has helped me with this struggle is reminding myself that Jesus did not suggest that we go out and fight for peace, nor that we attempt to obtain it from others by any means necessary. He says that He has already given it to us. And not only did He leave us peace, but it is His perfect peace that goes beyond anything that our finite human minds can imagine. That means that a negative report from the doctor is no match for it. Your spouse deciding to leave you is no match for it. The stress and turmoil of your job is no match for it. Do you hear me? Nothing that the enemy throws at you will ever be a match for Jesus’ perfect peace, which He freely gave to us because we are His. Be blessed. #sanguinemango
Sanguine Mango 