Roots of Peace

I’ve been learning about and experiencing peace in life lately.  I didn’t realize it was still something that God was working with me on.  Sometimes He works with me on things that I don’t know He is working on.  It can be rather quite annoying.

Peace was and will continue to be a hard one for me to grasp.  I can grasp the knowledge part of peace but the application part of it is a little trickier.  I tend to be an ambitious go-getter, administrative/planning type of person who can and will overanalyze everything.  It’s one of my better attributes and a huge asset when channeled correctly with my passions.  When used incorrectly my “controlling” Jekyll and Hyde, planning, anxious diva side can come out.  My friends and I try to keep her locked up.

When I’m faced with situations that I must let play out and can’t fix, it is pure torture.  There is a lot that goes into peace or being at peace with something.  One simply can’t be at peace unless they don’t care about anything.

I was recently in a situation where I continued to pray for peace, but instead God told me to give it up and that He’s got it and will fix or deal with it.  He didn’t need me in this situation but letting go is hard for me.  Letting go feels like giving up and not caring about ripple effects or things that are going wrong and people who hurt.  It felt like not caring about everything I thought I held dear at that time.  I don’t let go that well.

Instead of God just outright giving me peace He reminded me of much more.  I had to first off be reminded of who God is.  This doesn’t mean be reminded of who I am and how I view God but be reminded of who He actually is and how faithful He has been.  It meant being reminded to trust God because of who He is in the scriptures and in my life and not because of what I want Him to do or fix. 

There is a passage in Philippians where Paul addresses a situation where two women were not getting along.  It doesn’t say why they were not getting along but generally in arguments it never matters how it started as they point to much deeper root issues.    

Philippians 4:2-9

² I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to ⁿagree in the Lord. ³ Yes, I ask you also, true companion,² help these women, who have labored³ side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, ^owhose names are in the book of life.

^4 pRejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness⁴ be known to everyone. ^qThe Lord is at hand; ^6 rdo not be anxious about anything, ^sbut in everything by prayer and supplication ^twith thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And ^uthe peace of God, ^vwhich surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned⁵ and ^wreceived and heard and seen ^xin me—practice these things, and ^ythe God of peace will be with you.

These women had a disagreement going on to the point where it was impacting them as well as those in the church.  They were women who had labored side by side in ministry, yet were having issues.  Their disagreement was to the point where Paul included and called it out in his letter and asked others to help these women.  Perhaps it was something as simple as a misunderstanding, or perhaps it was something as big as a need for an intervention, reality tv show style.  It doesn’t matter.  What does matter is how Paul directed them both past themselves and back to God.

He tells them to Rejoice in the Lord always, and says it again for emphasis.  To truly rejoice in the Lord means to really see and understand who God is and to feel great delight in Him.  Rejoicing in the Lord puts all other things in perspective and they could then be reasonable.  This isn’t something that is rooted from themselves but from God.  Their own selves already caused the problem that needed to be addressed to begin with.

Vs 5-6 “……….The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

We can put aside anxious thoughts over uncontrollable things when we know that the Lord is at hand in everything.  There is true peace when we know that the Lord is at hand because we know who He is.  We can in a sense, not care; at least not anxiously care.  We can care lovingly and be at Peace because we have confidence in God no matter the circumstances.  This doesn’t mean God doesn’t want to hear from us even though He is already working in situations.  Paul said to make your requests known to God in everything by prayer and supplication as well as thanksgiving and wrapped up with:          

                    Vs 8-9 “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”

I had to do this for a period of two weeks recently.  I literally logged on my phone things that I was thankful for daily as I recognized them.  I had to look for things to be thankful for and was pleasantly surprised to find an overabundance of them.  It allowed me to see all the little things God was still actively at work in.

I may care about everything too much.  I can care lovingly and let go rather than anxiously when I know that God is at hand and have a peace that as Paul describes “will guard our hearts and minds.” 

Peace doesn't mean being in a constant quite place where life isn't messy, but it does mean having a confidence and trust in who God is rather in our own circumstances.

There is always something worthy of praise, even if it is only the breath that we have.  Maybe it’s not even that.  Maybe things sometimes feel so desperate that we praise God for things we know we cannot and will not ever see or understand but can trust that He is faithful in them.  Maybe it is a simple praise for who He is and what He has done outside of ourselves.