Peace that Surpasses All Understanding
When we have the peace of God, our problems, whether big or small, do not cause anxiety. Choosing a life with worry, even if the problem is small, will lead you to distress. Worry causes your problem to only get bigger.
Problems appear smaller with the peace of God in your mind and heart. You are unshaken. Your circumstances are not the center of your life. You keep on going, acting, and doing what you must do because in your life there is the peace of God.
God’s peace surpasses all understanding. It does not come from your skills. You do not produce it. It is not the result of something you can do by some natural exercise. It is not the product of something you learn at school and it does not come from friendships, although it is important to have healthy relationships through difficult times.
This peace is exercised through a life in the Spirit. It is the absolute confidence that your life is in the hands of God. It is resting in His faithfulness and not depending on your skills or strengths. It is not a logical peace, but one that surpasses logic. It means that a psychologist might go crazy analyzing you in your situation despite what they have learned. They might not understand how a person going through such circumstances could remain in peace.
God’s peace does not come from human beings; the natural mind does not understand it. Tranquility in difficulties only comes from something that God produces. The peace of God will stabilize your soul, and guard your heart, mind, and emotions. The problem is that our soul betrays us, since it reacts to the circumstances of life. Accustomed to governing, it tries to produce reactions of sadness, depression, fear, and everything that the natural mind, soul, heart, and emotions produce in the midst of affliction. However, those reactions take us to a state of anxiety which then confuses our heart and mind, making us chaotic. The peace of God guards our soul and protects us so our condition and circumstances do not govern us. There is a peace that goes beyond the understanding of psychology and of what human beings can do. What governs my life is in the Spirit.
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There are situations in life where our suffering is due to the effect of what we do and our irresponsibility. In the case of Paul, the afflictions that he narrates were the result of obeying a call in his life. He was not in control of his circumstances and could not change them.
The afflictions of life are not necessarily the result of something you did. Sometimes there are parents distressed because the children rebel and people believe that it is due to bad parenting. However, children grow up and make their own decisions. If your situation is out of your control, God, the Father of comfort, will produce peace in your heart. If you were the cause of your circumstances, correct your wrongdoing, and in the midst of it all, you will know the Father of mercy.
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Word - the part 2 to ‘Guard my heart, for everything you do flows from it.’
Guard your heart with the peace of God. Not from your own work, but in His faithfulness and the absolute confidence that my life is in His mighty hands.
Thank You Lord for the peace of the Spirit.
An incident that happened last week made me realise how hard it was for me to apologise when I felt that I wasn’t in the wrong.
But the prompting for me to apologise was so strong, that eventually I did. I was glad that I did, and that I learned that choosing my battles doesn’t mean just walking away from fights. It also meant that we apologise when we are in the wrong, or sometimes, even when we are not. Because your intentions may be right, but that doesn’t excuse your delivery.
Thoughts are still pretty jumbled but the quick break, albeit not a solo one, made me slightly more rested and so a little more introspective.
I’m feeling thankful.
Someone once shared that it is really hard to be praying for the same things over and over again for years, and to
keep the same faith in God.
I once asked, “Why?” because I felt that prayers were a form of communication with God and that if God doesn’t provide, it’s not meant for you. So basically, we pray, and if it comes, it comes and if it doesn’t, then so be it.
She said it was because it was something she fervently wished for, and so, it was hard to keep the same faith after days and years of disappointment.
So it brought her great joy and comfort, when God answered one of her prayers through me. She felt that at least her prayers were heard and therefore, others would also come to pass.
After so many years, I finally understood. This week, one of prayers, although I didn’t exactly pray for it, came to pass.
That too, brought me great comfort, and trust in His faithfulness, that He will orchestrate His plans in my life. That He has plans to prosper us and not harm us.
And there it is, the peace of the Spirit.
Thank You Lord for also speaking through people. For affirming Your plans for me, not only in one, but many.
A pt’s mum recently shared about her struggles and it got me thinking. I had the sudden realisation that I could have been her shoes.
Back when I was 14, when I was still young and naive, I thought that life could be just about settling down on farm, tending to little ones. And I would have, if then I met someone. But relationships are hard work, marriage even harder and building a family, the hardest.
So thank you Jesus for getting that in my hard head. And tonight, I prayed audaciously again, all in His faithfulness. Because ‘If you were the cause of your circumstances, correct your wrongdoing, and in the midst of it all, you will know the Father of mercy.’
