Peace No Matter What (Part 2)

In the second part of our two-part series, Kelly Cooper continues to highlight people in the Bible who maintained peace amidst difficult circumstances and encourages us to trust God in the middle of life’s storms.

In the Bible in the Book of Acts, we read of Paul’s life-changing encounter with Jesus while travelling to Damascus. After this event, Paul went on to have a significant influence on the establishment of the early Christian community. From his letters to the growing churches, we know that he was no stranger to hardship. In 2 Corinthians he describes being imprisoned, flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, receiving lashes and having a thorn in his side. And yet Paul says, ‘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). Why did Paul encourage others to experience God’s peace during such dire circumstances?

David faced many challenges in his life, from battling the giant Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17) to fleeing for his life from King Saul (1 Samuel 19). And yet he penned the words to one of the most frequently read Bible verses: Psalm 23:4 ‘Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me’. What was so special about David that he was able to experience God’s comfort while literally fearing for his life?

Peace in the storm

It can seem impossible to experience peace when we face difficulties. We may think that peace is reserved only for others, that we are somehow lacking. Perhaps we feel not quite good enough or strong enough or have enough faith to feel peace. But God promises us peace that doesn’t come with conditions. It comes with a simple command to draw near to him. His peace is available to us all, by simply choosing to be with him.

Horatio (see part one), Paul and David understood that no matter what, God would be with them, and this knowledge filled them with peace that defied logic. They recognised that they wouldn’t find God at the end of their conflict but in the middle of it. And they knew they would find God and experience his peace when they spent time with him. We, too, can draw near to God and his peace in the following ways.

Redefine peace

The Hebrew word for peace found in the Old Testament is ‘shalom’. It occurs more than 200 times in the Bible, indicating its significance. While ‘peace’ is a close translation of shalom, it has a broader meaning, including wholeness and being made complete. This expanded understanding of the peace Jesus spoke about reveals that God not only longs for us to experience his peace but also his desire to restore us to wholeness, even amidst our brokenness. When we invite him to teach us and lead us, we experience his shalom.

Remember who’s the boss

One day Jesus will return and bring real and lasting peace forever. Until that day, peace will always evade us when we trust that it can be created and controlled by us. When unexpected circumstances arise—and they will—it can be easy to believe the lie that we can only experience peace when our situation changes. We begin to pray ‘someday’ prayers for the circumstances we desire and forget to pray ‘every day’ prayers for the inexhaustible supply of peace God offers us in every moment.

While we insist on maintaining control, we obstruct God’s intention for us to dwell in peace. However, when we choose to believe that God is in control of every aspect of our lives, we are better able to let go of our worries and to accept the gift of peace the Holy Spirit so generously offers. Often, though nothing changes in our circumstances, everything changes in the way we experience them.

Read and lament

Isaiah 26:3 tells us that God, ‘...will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is steadfast, because they trust in you’. How do we keep our minds ‘stayed’ on God and learn to trust him amid troubling times? We move towards him by choosing to read his word. The Bible contains countless stories of those who doubted, worried, took matters into their own hands and then found God’s peace.

When we spend time in the Bible, we learn more about our Creator. And when we know him better, we trust him more, even when our circumstances don’t make sense.

God inspired people to record their honest emotions in Scripture so we can learn to be honest with him too. When difficult seasons stretch on for weeks, months and years, the Bible provides us with the language of lament to express our pain. God knows, even when we don’t, the words we need to utter, the tears we need to cry, and all we need to lay at his feet. When we lament we show God that we trust him, and he meets us in our pain.

Through spending time with God, we develop a unique kind of confidence, not based on our own competence, or certainty of our circumstances, but on the promise that Jesus made each of us before he died: that he leaves us his peace, always.

This is the same confidence that Horatio experienced when he wrote, ‘It is well with my soul’. The same confidence Paul urged believers to embrace while he was imprisoned in chains. And the same confidence David spoke of when he feared for his life.

Jesus asks us in exchange for this most extravagant gift, that we simply choose to be with him. That’s why we’re equally likely to experience Jesus’ peace whether we’re driving alone in the silence of our car or surrounded by others in a bustling airport; at the bedside of a loved one or the inside of a classroom; in times of anticipated joy or unforeseen sorrow; in our brightest moments and our darkest nights. Jesus, our Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, is always with us—no matter what.