Little Tidbit: Anxiety has been rather rampant in my life lately, but a neat thing that God has been teaching me through it is what Biblical peace truly looks like. He is changing the way I approach thinking about the word peace, as well as the way I approach seeking it. I am 100% a work in progress and still have so much to learn on this topic, but I’m pumped to share what the Lord has revealed to me thus far!
“The most difficult lie I have ever contended with is this: life is a story about me.”
Those are some rather profound words by Donald Miller. The belief that our lives are for ourselves is one of the biggest lies that we can fall into. Even worse, this is one of the most destructive lies. Today’s world often tells us to leave behind a legacy, focus on ourselves, and find and do what is best for us. This comes in many forms - seeking success, finding what we love, and self-care. While these are all good pursuits, sometimes we can go too far in striving for them. We can get to a point where we become so self-focused and ultimately forget that God has called us to glorify and seek Him (not ourselves) in all that we do (Matthew 6:33). Rather than glorifying the Lord with all that we do, we can so easily fall into the trap of seeking glory, success, and security for ourselves.
Seeking ourselves before glorifying God causes us to deteriorate. Quite honestly, keeping your life perfectly in order is a lot of pressure. The deterioration that comes from this pressure to seek ideal situations can look different for everyone. For many, including myself, it looks like a raging monster of anxiety (side note: this is not in reference to clinical anxiety). I think the reason this deterioration comes in the form of anxiety for so many of us is because of a common desire: Peace. We long for it. We crave it. Living in the troubled world that we do, we seek for our lives to be free from strife. In our human attempt to grasp for peace, we often layer our defenses with things like glory, success, and security. We work hard to perfectly maneuver our circumstances to protect ourselves from the waves we encounter. The reality is this: trying to micromanage every little detail ourselves takes us further and further away from the peace that our souls crave.
Peace can be defined as, “a stress-free state of security and calmness that comes when there’s no fighting or war, everything coexisting in perfect harmony and freedom,” (Vocabulary.com). While this is lovely and ideal, it is unrealistic due to our ever-changing life situations and the imperfect world that we live in. As much as we may desire it, this definition of peace is not promised while we remain on this earth, because it hangs on the desire for all of our situations to work out perfectly. It is also not the kind of peace that God promises us when we choose to follow Him. God promises us many beautiful things, but worldly comfort and ease are not included.
In John 14:27 Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” For background, this verse comes from a passage in which Jesus is promising that God will send the Holy Spirit to remain with His people as a companion and guide them after Jesus is no longer in His human form. I think a key truth that we can take from John 14:27 is that this peace that God gives to us is unlike anything the world has to offer. As Christians, our faith gives us peace with God (Romans 5:1) because biblical peace comes from our relationship with Him that was given through Jesus’ sacrifice. With this God given peace we have an undeserved transaction where God simply gives us Himself (as our Father who has authority over everything-Matthew 28:18), and we get to give up our concerns and need to control the course of our lives to Him. With this peace, we can choose to trust Him regardless of our internal or external circumstances.
In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul writes, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” In 4:11, Paul writes that he has learned how to be content regardless of the situation he is in. This is because Paul understands that God will provide everything that he needs, as well as Paul is not afraid of death. In Philippians 1:21, Paul writes, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” This shows Paul’s understanding that life on earth is about serving Christ and advancing the kingdom. He also displays his understanding of the beautiful gift of eternity with God when his days on earth are over.
It is evident that Paul knew that his life was not a story about himself. Having this knowledge, gave Paul tremendous peace as he lived his life, because He had a right relationship with the Heavenly Father. He gave his anxieties and requests to the Lord and trusted His sovereignty. Paul knew that no matter what, the will of God would be done, and this enabled him to give thanks and maintain peace and contentment through highs and lows.
I think that finding biblical peace happens when we keep our eyes fixed on the Lord and get to know Him deeply. It comes from within our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13). It happens when we know how deeply He loves us (John 3:16) and when we choose to love Him and others in the things that we do (Matthew 22:36-40). It happens when we know and remember that His authority over everything is on our side when we seek to live in His promises, and live out the purpose He has given us as Christians (Matthew 28:18-20). I’ve learned that peace doesn’t happen when we empty our minds and avoid reality, but rather it happens when we fill our minds and hearts with Him and His truth. It happens when we trust that His Will will be done regardless of the steps that we choose to take (even if they are terrifying LOL), because avoiding life, situations and decisions is not trusting Him.
Last, I want to say that taking initiative, working hard, and being prudent in planning are GOOD things. God totally calls us to be diligent and to plan and to work hard in all that we do. The key is, we must remember who the story is about as we act (Proverbs 16:3). If we want to maintain the peace that the Lord promises, we need to remember not to hold on so tightly to the things that we achieve and own and maintain, because in comparison to eternity, they are all temporary (Matthew 6:19-21).
Erin is a junior at Florida State University studying Family and Child Science and Psychology. She is a 6w7 on the enneagram and kinda (really) loves learning about diseases. Reading, a warm cup of tea, twizzlers, and goofy convos are some of her favorites. Learning to look to Jesus rather than the wind has been a huge theme in her life lately (Matthew 14:22-32).