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What does real peace look like? I wrote this a long time ago and am reposting it with much additional material. I was referencing my mother’s medical diagnosis.
The repost
“I posted yesterday how blessed I feel but that I was smart enough to know that life can change in a heartbeat. It did. Details are not important except to say that what has happened affects someone I love deeply and that will, of course, affect me.
What IS important is that while circumstances have changed and I’m going to face some trying times in the weeks ahead, I Am still blessed and God is still good.
I am at peace today. But it’s not the same peace as yesterday. Yesterday, life was full of joy and anticipation. It was just a good day all around. Yesterday’s peace had a lot to do with circumstances. It was not the peace that comes from God. It was feeling good because everything was good.
That is not the peace God gives.
We don’t really know the peace God gives, that extraordinary, unexplainable peace until our circumstances are not so rosy. That peace takes our breath away like the wind we gulp in sometimes and makes us gasp. We know it’s God’s peace because we turn to Him and not away from Him.
Our sense of God’s presence is heightened and our ears acute to His voice. Our thoughts constantly referred back to Him. This is authentic peace, not a false imitation.
As Oswald Chambers says, “Reflected peace is proof that we are right with God because we are turning our minds to Him. When we are not right with God, we can’t turn our minds to anyone but ourselves.”
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I’m even more blessed today because God is giving me an opportunity to learn more about Him. Real peace, not false security, only comes from God.
We can be as busy as little bees outside and live in that quiet place that comes from God’s peace.
I’ve been deep in Bible study for my last book and while it wasn’t about God’s peace, I could identify it in certain lives of those I read about. Queen Esther being one of them.
Queen Esther
When I read her story, I was impressed with her self-composure, especially when Mordecai tells her she needs to approach the king to save the nation of Israel. (You’ll have to read the book of Esther.)
Esther was used to doing what her Uncle Mordecai told her to do, but not this time. This time, she calmly tells him “No, uncle, I have another plan.” I picture her stating this very calmly. She tells her uncle that she will ask for prayer and fasting for three days to hear God speak and give her direction.
She is clearly at peace with herself and her decision. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t worried. This kind of peace only comes from a close relationship with God.
This is not the peace that comes because everything is right around us, although, of course, we can have God’s peace while everything is good as well. That’s a win-win. But when we have peace when everything is wrong around us, that’s the peace that comes from God.
Peace is not a feeling
This may surprise you, but peace is not a feeling. It’s a state of being. It’s an awareness that all is right between you and God, no matter what is swirling around you. You can feel upset and worried and still be at peace with God.
Those are feelings, not sin, and sin is what separates us from God.
Real peace is a state of being.
Our relationship with God can be good, and yet we still experience emotions because we are human beings first. Because remember, peace is a state of being.I would suggest this is where many Christians get confused.
We judge our faith by our emotions instead of judging our faith by what the Bible teaches. We are saved if we put our trust in God. Period.
But that doesn’t mean emotions such as fear can’t get in the way of our “calm” but our peace with God still remains even if we don’t “feel” peaceful.
Our emotions are simply our emotions. We should certainly pay attention to them because they tell us a lot about ourselves, but,
they tell us nothing about God.
Some people may have a hard time with this, but I think it’s totally true. It’s like fear. We can feel fear and yet rise above it, function, and do what we need to do. Don’t you think David was a little frightened when he stood up to Goliah? Or does anyone really believe Daniel wasn’t afraid when he was thrown into the lion’s den?
We can be feeling a lot of emotions but still be at real peace with God because we know our standing with God.
Don’t equate real peace with feelings.
While I was working on this last book, there were often times I got discouraged. Then I would start to feel anxious, and I would question my relationship with God because of it.
My feelings made me doubt.
I would consciously walk away from the writing and remind myself that my relationship with God was right where it should be, meaning I was at peace with God. It was my emotions that were getting in the way.
Once I realized this, I was right back on track.
Some questions about peace
This concept may be new to you, and I would love to hear your thoughts.
Do you think peace is a state of being or a feeling?
Can you be at peace with God and still feel negative emotions?
Share your thoughts with me.
God bless, and have a wonderful day.
