The world has seemingly been turned on its head. People all around us are in panic-mode, but as followers of Jesus, we are meant to have a peace that keeps us calm in the midst of chaos.
So how do we access this peace?
This is a question that I was asked many times last year when I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer and spent months going through chemo and surgery and radiation. How did I walk in peace?
Well, it definitely wasn’t me. I’m not by nature a “laid-back” kind of person. I would more likely be described as “high-strung.” So I know the peace didn’t come from me or all the deep breathing that I did. It was from a source much deeper and much bigger than me.
An Unshakeable Heart
In Matthew 7, we find a well-known story that Jesus told which helps us answer our question about peace:
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
It’s not enough just to know what Jesus’ teachings are, though that’s a great first step, we must act on them. They won’t help us at all if we don’t do them.
Jesus does not give us a set of teachings to burden us down with more commandments to be obeyed. He teaches us so that we can know the path to life and peace. If we follow him, keep in step with his Spirit, our lives will be solid. Built on a foundation of rock.
If we fail to do what he instructs, our lives will remain shaky. If we don’t obey because we don’t want to, he won’t force us. If we don’t obey because we feel that we can’t, we can ask him for help.
Calm Even During Cancer
When I first heard the word “cancer” come out of the doctor’s mouth, emotions and thoughts of all kinds threatened to overwhelm me in the days and weeks that followed. My only solace was in God’s presence.
As I spent time with God and lifted him up, the darkness had to leave. I reminded myself (and the fear that I was facing) just who my Father is. He is good. He is powerful. He is a healer. He is with me. He will help me. I am not abandoned. He will give me wisdom. He will bring me through this storm.
As I focused on him, the despair around me was silenced. I heard God’s promises to bring me through. I had hope of his healing. I chose to trust that he would do what he said he would do. He had proven himself to me before.
I was tempted countless times to worry about what might happen. I had to be ruthless with thoughts of death and fears of all the terrible “what-ifs” of the future. I repeatedly had to decided that no matter what came my way, God was big enough to see me through it.
Did I do it perfectly? By all means, no. But I knew that Jesus’ instructions to not worry about tomorrow were for my good. So I asked the Holy Spirit to help me and he did.
The Moravian Difference
The great preacher John Wesley wrote of a time when he was onboard a ship that was headed for the Georgia colony when a terrible storm threatened to overtake them.(1)
Most of the English passengers responded in terror and panicked. But there was a small group of Moravian missionaries from Germany that remained calm throughout the storm. The actually gathered and worshipped together on the deck of the ship, unafraid of the possibility of death.
This made such an impression on Wesley that he recorded it in his journal. He recognized that they had something which he did not. Two years later, weary and disheartened, he found himself in the company of the Moravians again, and this time, he too, encountered the Holy Spirit for himself.
Mind you, Wesley was already a preacher and would have considered himself a Christian, but it was this encounter with God where his heart was “strangely warmed” when he knew that his salvation was from Christ alone and his life was changed.
From Weenies to Warriors
In Mark 4, when the disciples encountered a storm of their own aboard a boat with Jesus, they did not respond like the Moravians. They all panicked as well. Jesus was the only one on the ship who did not. In fact, fear was the normal response for the disciple throughout the gospels and even throughout the death and resurrection of Jesus.
They abandoned him and did not believe that he was going to come back in three days. And even when he did return, they didn’t believe it. So what changed in their lives that made them different?
How did they go from the timid men we see as Jesus walks with them on this earth to the bold witnesses that eventually all lose their lives as martyrs for the one they love? I believe the answer is the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God is the one who helps us keep the instructions of Jesus. And these instructions lead us to peace. By keeping his teachings, we find our houses built on firm foundations.
The Secret of God’s Presence
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
when my enemies and foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
I will remain confident.Psalm 27
4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
delighting in the Lord’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
singing and praising the Lord with music.
Even when we are attacked, we can remain confident. I believe this psalm gives us the key which is spending time in God’s presence.
As the psalmist spends time with God, delighting in who he is, thinking on him, offering worship and praise, God keeps him safe from trouble. It doesn’t mean that trouble never comes, but that even in the midst of it, we can find peace.
This peace is found as we hear and follow the teachings of Jesus. Not because they are some religious rule to be obeyed, but because they lead us down the path to life. The Holy Spirit is the one who enables us to keep these instructions.
He reminds us not to worry. He cautions us against relying on our money instead of on God. He encourages us that God will take care of us. He gives us the grace to walk through hardship. He comforts us when we grieve. He offers wisdom when we don’t know what to do.
Jesus did not leave us as orphans when he went back to heaven. He gave us an even better gift and that is the third person of the Trinity.
If you don’t know him, God promises to introduce you if you just ask! (Luke 11:13)
So may we take heart that we can walk in peace and even confidence no matter what comes. Not because we are strong and capable but because our God is. Our strength may fail, but his never will!
*Much of this post is excerpted from my book Weenie Faith, available now on Amazon.
(1) https://www.umnews.org/en/news/a-little-known-big-influence-on-john-wesley
