My perception of Peace

By Jen Kline

Don’t continue doing things the way we’re doing them at present, each of us doing as we wish. Until now you haven’t arrived at the goal, the resting place, the inheritance that God, your God, is giving you. But the minute you cross the Jordan River and settle into the land God, your God, is enabling you to inherit, he’ll give you rest from all your surrounding enemies. You’ll be able to settle down and live in safety. Deuteronomy 10:12 MSG

Growing up, peace was not something I operated out of in my daily life. Because of my need to prove my worth and competency, I looked for ways to keep myself busy. As I've mentioned before, it was a coping mechanism that worked for me at the time. I was too busy proving myself worthy to bother with the understanding of peace.

When I became a Christian I decided I would center my life around my faith and my relationship with Jesus. I wanted to know more about Him, learn who He was, what He left behind and why what He did was so important to my life today.

I was attracted to the concept of peace. Really? You mean you can live on this earth day to day and really have peace? A relationship with God was peaceful? They called him the PRINCE OF PEACE?!?

My curiosity drove me into lots of prayer around this subject. I loved stories from the Bible where Jesus brought the storms to a stand still. I loved how the woman at the well, while being scorned and mocked by the community, was met with peace by Jesus Christ. I was touched by those stories but had a hard time believing this kind of peace was something I could have for myself.

I remember a time when I was in my living room praying. My circumstances were difficult, I was in the midst of broken relationships and discord, finances were tough and I needed peace in my life. The Lord met me just like He met the disciples in the boat and just like He met the woman at the well. As I prayed, I could feel a wash of joy/peace over me. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before. I wasn’t anxious, I was content and I knew the Holy Spirit had met me right where I needed Him to be. It was an experience and a promise I could stand on. It built my faith in God.

In my day-to-day life I desire peace as well, but it always seems out of reach. The busyness of life can distract and keep me so wound up that the struggle for peace is real. I see it even now as the summer has arrived and I am coordinating play dates, time with my husband, kids' schedules, my own schedule, activities, vacations, grocery shopping, church events and so on.

Hoping I’d have a day filled with peace, I’ve often felt disappointed, defeated and frustrated at the fact that my day included things I was not actually prepared for at all. My needs were not being met, random stuff would come out of left field, people would say things that caught me off guard, my health and my schedule would all disrupt my pursuit of peace and I would think… you promised me peace Lord… where is it? Why do I not live out of this place of peace?  

 "Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. "They shall be my people, and I will be their God;” Jeremiah 32:37-38

I’ve come to realize that I need a paradigm shift. Peace can thrive in safety and security and I'm realizing that's what I need, but am missing, in my daily life. I need tools to help me understand how to create a safe space to feel what I need, to be present in my relationships, my life, circumstances and feelings. Safe places where I can be real. Safe places where it’s OK to say what I’m thinking and feeling (even if what I’m thinking and saying is negative) without condemnation or judgment.

Being present and honest with who I am is what God desires for my day to day.  It is in our intimacy with God where the Holy Spirit can move in our hearts. Safety, to me, is about being able to choose what I need for me. I value being able to name where I am at and be vulnerable in my relationships and vulnerable with God. If the only thing I can control is me, then I need to “go there” with myself and seek God while I trust in his unending promises of love, security and safety.

As you go about your week and you feel frustrated that the peace has not come, give yourself a safe place to actually let yourself feel what you need. Allow yourself to look inward… seeking the answers to the things that come up. When you get in that space and name what actually is happening, peace comes… and thrives within this safe, secure, vulnerable place between you and the Lord. Receive the gift of safety and security.

What, do you find, keeps you from being in this vulnerable and safe place?