Peace

When I was a young child, the benediction I heard each Sunday morning was from Philippians 4:7:

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Children have a lot to absorb as they grow up.  Life is often arbitrary, from their point of view, and your day depends as much on your parents' and teachers' moods as it does on the events that make up that 24 hour period.  Most things surpass the limited knowledge and experience of a young child, and the search for understanding is continual and sometimes exhausting.

I think the same can be said in the life of  Christian.  Living is exhausting.  There is a lot to worry about.  Money, job security, home life, our loved ones... the list of concerns is extensive and ever present, especially in these current uncertain times.  Even when we are relaxing and having fun, the concerns of our unsettled world lurk in the subconscious.  Our hearts and minds are vulnerable, and Satan exploits our weakness to put a wedge between God and us at every opportunity.

My mother's invariable refrain, when I am worrying about something out of my control, is that everything will work out.  Her vision is not clouded - she has lived through a lot of hardship in her life, and she knows the world is not always a kind place.  But she also knows that God has a plan for her, and ultimately, everything does resolve, one way or another, and God has been there with her through it all.  Worrying didn't change anything, it simply added to the weight she was already carrying.  The older I get, the more I understand the deeper truth in her words.

God is ever present, and his shoulders are broad enough to carry every burden.  He has the full picture, while we are one piece of the jigsaw, isolated and confused.  Doubt is Satan's way of robbing us of peace, and he will manipulate us with it wherever and whenever he can.  When we trust God to take the weight of our concerns, as a child trusts their parent, he will give us an eternal peace that cannot be overwhelmed, no matter what our cares may be.

Perspective is everything, and my increasingly mature perspective is that life is not lived in the moment, but in the fullness of time.  God is with us for the long haul, no matter what the present looks like.  True peace cannot found in money, or health, or job or loved ones.  There is no lasting peace in our human condition.  The only peace that is guaranteed is the peace found in the confidence that God has us covered for all eternity; he is in control and has a plan, and no matter what the world throws at us, if we believe in him and accept his.  Wishing you peace in the turmoil of your daily life.  It will all work out in God's time.