Finding Peace

My sisters, mom and I all gathered in the bedroom before the service. We were about to head to my dad’s memorial service and needed some time to pray before we celebrated his life and to thank everyone for their love and support.

As the four of us held hands and prayed, a supernatural peace descended. In that moment we knew God was there, the Holy Spirit comforting and strengthening us during some of the most painful moments of our lives.

Dad had died tragically and unexpectedly a few days earlier. The shock and grief, along with the travel, service preparations, and explaining to small children what had happened had left us weary, numb and tired. But as we prayed that morning, the peace of God was so strong; so powerful. Over twenty years later, I can still remember that peace vividly. The only way to explain the feeling was God was holding us in that moment.

The peace we experienced that day transcends our understanding. In Philippians 4:7 we read, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Experiencing peace during great loss was beyond human comprehension, and yet it was tangible to us that day.

God offers peace to us that is not dependent on our circumstances. Regardless of what we may be going through, when we call on Him, He provides that unexplainable peace. Jesus promised us this peace as recorded in the gospel of John.

“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.” (John 14:27)

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Notice that He doesn’t promise us a world without trouble, but rather in the middle of the tribulation, we can experience His peace. Whenever I ponder God’s peace, the story of Jesus sleeping in the boat comes to mind. He and the disciples are taking a trip to the other side of the lake. Jesus falls asleep and a big windstorm blows in and the boat starts taking on water. Jesus sleeps through it until His disciples wake Him up. They fear they are going to drown, but Jesus is at peace and able to sleep through the storm. (See Luke 8:22-25). That type of peace is also at our disposal.

If we are walking in fellowship with God, keeping our relationship with Him our top priority, we too can live in a state of constant peace that cannot be shaken by our circumstances. As we learned in last week’s blog, the world can try to steal that peace. However, if we walk in the assurance that God is greater and mightier than anything the world can throw at us, we too can walk in peace that the human mind cannot comprehend. What blessed assurance that is!