Cultivating Peace
Peace…some days it seems elusive, hard to nail down as we flitter through our busy lives; always going, moving instead of simply being. There are so many things to get done I would say, as I hurried through another day with my long list in hand. Where is this peace I cannot seem to grasp?
The definition of peace is freedom from distraction, quiet, calm, harmonious, an absence of disturbance, harmony. Our circumstances should not be the dictators of our peace but peace comes as we focus. If peace is harmonious then focus should be our goal. So many thoughts bombard us, dividing our focus. Our goal is to stay in focus so that the picture of our lives is clear.
Ann Voscamp said, “Anxiety is a function of divided attention. When we divide our attention, we make ourselves anxious. Our lives fall to pieces when we give anxiety the power to shatter our peace. Peace is trusting that God won’t let things fall to pieces. The opposite of peacefulness is anxiousness. The Greek word for anxious is merimna which means PIECES.”
Maybe the issue when we are anxious is simply we lack peace. Our thoughts become divided, inharmonious driving our emotions into a frenzy, not for real reasons but from divided thoughts. I know anxiety. I know depression. I know. Life throws a wicked curve ball you don’t see coming and just like that our thoughts divide and conquer.
I am not minimizing the cruel effects of anxiety, God knows how I suffered under its weight. The seemingly suffocating strength of its grip can be so much. Too much.
We are all handed things we wish we could give back. No one is exempt. Our minds can spit out a thousand what ifs for any scenario. It doesn’t even take a conscious effort. What does require a conscious effort is choosing to remain in peace and letting those random, illogical thoughts subside. Logical thinking is reasoning based on facts, it’s reasonable, consistent, deducible. The bombardment of what if thoughts are anything but reasonable. They are speculative at best. Maybe the scenarios they present could happen. They could just as easily not happen. Herein lies our dilemma. Will we gain predominance over those thoughts or will we jump of their bandwagon?
Philippians 4:8 “Christian brothers, keep your minds thinking about whatever is true, whatever is respected, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever can be loved, and whatever is well thought of. If there is anything good and worth giving thanks for, think about these things.” Thinking about what we think about is a game changer.
Those opportunities come even to the calm and logical ones. We are not the special ones who battle anxiety. We are just the ones who choose to take the rabbit trails offered by our inharmonious minds. When we do, we throw peace out the proverbial window, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
That choice seems impossible to make in the moment. I get it. It takes intentionality and practice to conquer. My journey was not perfectly traveled, but more of a mountain climbing excursion. Literally. So many days were spent sliding back down the mountainside. My victory came because I chose to get back up and keep climbing.
Every step toward the peace we seek is another step away from anxiety. I can’t imagine my journey without Jesus. How does anyone make it without him? I cannot comprehend such a life. His gentle guidance and comfort were so life giving when life seemed too much to hang onto.
Isaiah 9:6 says of Jesus that he is the Prince of Peace. A Prince is the ruler of a principality or state. He is the master of peace, he rules over it all the while graciously offering it to us when we need it. Will we take what he offers?
To make every effort to focus, to choose our thoughts has always been the work of a Believer. We fight an invisible enemy who is the Prince of darkness. Anxiety is darkness. John 14:27 Jesus said, “I am leaving you with a gift-peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So, don’t be troubled or afraid.” What an amazing gift his peace is.
I’m praying for you that The Prince of Peace would surround you, envelop you, and consume you as you lean into His embrace. He is always there…choose to turn into his presence, into his overwhelming love for you. John 14:27, “I leave the gift of peace with you-my peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but my perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts-instead be courageous!”