Tag Archives: John 14:27

Procuring Peace in a Crazy World

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How are we supposed to be at peace when it feels like the world around us has gone mad? Some days it feels like an impossible task.

But let’s really think about it for a minute. What does peace look like to you? A home where everyone gets along? A calendar with more open days than filled days? The absence of conflict in the world around you?

First of all, sign me up for all of these things. 😉 Second, while these scenarios are desirable and may make you feel peaceful for a while, they are too dependent on outside circumstances to allow for true, unshakeable peace.

True peace transcends our circumstances, as paradoxical as it sounds. Peace is one of the attributes of the Holy Spirit, which means we need His power in order to live in peace, despite our circumstances.

For the Christian, true peace is a gift from God, but it also comes from deep trust. We trust that God’s plan is ultimately best, so we walk in peace. We trust that God is love and nothing we can ever do will change his great love for us, so we walk in peace. We trust that, in the end, God will right all the wrongs of this crazy world, so we walk in peace. Usually.

It’s all too easy to fall into a state of inner conflict or unrest, and when we find ourselves in this place, we need to examine our souls. If peace comes from deep-rooted trust in God, then conversely, conflict comes from distrust, whether we acknowledge it or not.

We don’t see God moving in the way we’ve been praying for, so we doubt his goodness and our hearts are conflicted. We aren’t convinced God’s love is unconditional, and our hearts are conflicted as we ponder what that means for us. We see people around us doing terrible things and being honored by the world, and we are conflicted as we question whether God will bring justice to the hard situations. (If trusting God is a challenge, check out this relevant post from awhile back: The Huge Truth My Characters Taught Me About Trusting God.)

Peace is largely the result of trust—honest, true, deep-rooted trust. It takes courage to attain peace, because it takes courage to faithfully trust God in all things. And peace is certainly not the result of a lack of conflict in the world around us. I can assure you that’s not going away before Jesus comes back.

How do we go about procuring this peace, especially since it sometimes feels like a moving target?

  • We spend time with God. Not just a few minutes in the morning, but throughout the day. We play worship music, have conversations with others, talk to God about random things throughout our days, and get to know him on a deeper level.
  • We actively display our trust by submitting to him.
  • We pray and ask him for his peace to fill our lives.
  • We remember that Jesus himself walks before, beside, and behind us through all things.
  • We bring him into every part of life until our hearts are entirely yielded to him and once we do that, we don’t stop there because we know it’s a daily process that is easily undone if we let down our guard.
  • When we lose our peace, we pray for more strength and more faith and we declare our trust in God until our hearts and minds are at peace once again, filled with confidence in his trustworthiness and goodness.

Striving for peace is a goal of mine this year. Maybe it is for you, too. If so, join me in lingering on these verses and promises from God:

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:7

I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world! –John 16: 33

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with all of you. –2 Thessalonians 3:16

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. –John 14:27

I will both lie down and sleep in peace; for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.         –Psalm 4:8

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. –Romans 15:13

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. –Philippians 4:9

The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever. –Isaiah 32:17

To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. –Romans 12:18

Print out these verses and hang them where you’ll see them every day. Share them with a friend or relative going through a hard time. Nothing beats Scripture when it comes to speaking peace into our lives.

I pray, as you read this, that God would fill you with unshakeable peace and that your trust in his love and his goodness would permeate into your heart and soul more than ever before. Amen.

Good News for Those Longing to be Known

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I rarely spoke during class in high school. If I wasn’t talking to one of my very few close friends, my nose was buried in a book. Why? Not because I didn’t like anyone else, as everyone probably assumed. But because I was extremely shy and far more insecure than I would like to admit. It took me a long time to get to know someone well enough to be myself around them.

So there I would sit. Alone with my nose in a book in a noisy classroom full of students. Longing to be known so that I could feel comfortable enough to participate in the jokes and conversations around me. Longing for someone to dig deep enough to get to know the real me.

Christmas is around the corner, and for many it’s been a hard year. An isolating year, perhaps. Maybe your friend or family member is sick or passed away and you’re struggling just to go through the motions of life. Maybe you feel like you have no one to be real with because the people in your life (and you, perhaps) are on edge. Maybe life is going great, but you’re so busy doing all the December things that conversation with others never goes deeper than surface level. You don’t feel seen. You don’t feel known.

It’s been a challenging year, and part of keeping a healthy frame of mind means being in relationship with others. We were designed for relationship, and as wonderful as it is to have great friends and family, even they can’t fulfill our deepest longing to be known.

Only Jesus can do that. And boy, am I thankful. Having been a Christian all my life and having leaned on Jesus more times than I can count, it makes me sad to think of people not having that security and encouragement in their lives. Being known and loved by God himself is a great privilege of the Christ-follower. When no one understands, he does. When we feel all alone, we’re not. When we’re most in need, he’s there. That’s good news if you ask me.

If you don’t yet have this – the Relationship of all Relationships – it’s easy to get there. Simply go to him. He’s hoping you will. Try praying something like this:

“Jesus, I want to be known by you. Life is hard and I need you with me. Forgive me for living apart from you for so long. I give you my heart and my life. Thank you for loving me, saving me, and being with me always. Amen.”

And if you still need convinced or reminded that God himself knows and loves you, this is the way Psalm 139:1-6 puts it:

“Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.” 

In God’s presence, we don’t have to bury our nose in a book due to insecurity. We are already loved, accepted, and known by him. We’re free to openly share conversation, sorrows, fears, and even laughter and jokes with him.

This Christmas season, I challenge us all to practice drawing near to the only One who will ever truly know us. The One who says, in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” Let’s be deliberate to open ourselves up to the One who drew so near, he physically came down to earth from heaven to show us his sacrificial love in a radical way.

Have a blessed Christmas, and I would love to hear in the comments specific ways you like to focus on Jesus during the busy Christmas season. Christ-centered Christmas music is one of my favorite ways! (And if you enjoy cozy Christian fiction, hop on over to my Books/Extras page to find out more about my new Christmas book!)