Choosing Peace in Peaceless Situations
Choosing Peace in Peaceless Situations
A while back, a conversation with a friend of mine left me feeling troubled.
We hadn’t had an argument. There were no unkind words thrown back and forth.
I simply hadn’t agreed with a choice she was making, and it was a decision that would have serious implications for others involved. Based on past experiences with this particular friend, however, I knew that voicing my concerns would lead to an argument, or worse yet, would cause her to double down.
So, despite the very many things I felt compelled to say to her, I held my tongue. By doing this, I hoped I was leaving a foot in the door for further discussion about the issue at another time — a time when she would, perhaps, be more receptive to considering a different perspective on the matter.
Still, I felt unsettled in my heart and my mind, and in the silence that followed our conversation, I began to wonder if I should have said more.
James 1:19 says that we should be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (NLT). I’ve been trying to take this verse to heart, though this is a huge struggle for me. (Anybody else?) Much like the Apostle Peter, I live life with a heightened sense of urgency, which often leads me to act impetuously — sometimes, to the detriment of anyone unfortunate enough to be “helped” by me.
Despite my discomfort about where the conversation with my friend had left off, I knew that anything else needing to be said by me could and should wait until the Holy Spirit gave me clear direction on exactly what to say; and I didn’t have that yet.
So I began to consider what else I could possibly do in the waiting. If I couldn’t speak into the situation any further, were there other actions I could take to intervene instead? Again, my Peter-like personality was coming out in full force.
Pull out the sword (John 18:10–11)!
Cast the lots (Acts 1)!
No need to follow Jesus’ leading, no need to wait for the Holy Spirit!
Just do something!
I know all too well how this manner of “fixing” things ends, and it’s never good. It’s certainly not God’s best for me, nor for anyone else. Thankfully, on this occasion, before I had the chance to take action, I sensed Jesus gently pleading with me: “Christina, put your sword away.”
Slowly — and admittedly, with some protest — I obeyed.
Then, I began to pray…
I started by listing off my many concerns, and by voicing a few of my complaints as well.
Next, I acknowledged that God could fix the situation, with or without my help, and I reasserted my faith in the belief that even if God were to choose not to intervene in the way that I thought He should, whatever He chose to do (or not to do) would be better, even if His way didn’t make sense to me.
I left the matter in God’s hands, but truth be told, I was still unsettled.
So I began to ask God to meet my very real need in that moment: “God, I have no peace. And without a sense of peace, I worry that I’ll try to pick this back up and carry it myself, again. Would You give me Your peace?”
Then I sensed His Spirit leading me into truth by asking me, “Is there a lack of peace within you, or a lack of peace outside of you?” The answer to this question, I would soon realize, is the key to experiencing God’s peace in spite of our circumstances.
You see, Jesus never promised that our circumstances would be peaceful. In fact, He assured us that they wouldn’t be. And He made it clear that that’s not the reason He came here. Jesus didn’t come to bring peace to the world.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” — Jesus (Matthew 10:34, ESV)
Jesus did come, however, to bring peace to His followers — including you and me.
“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.” — Jesus (John 14:27, ESV)
As followers of Jesus and children of God, you and I can have peace within, even when there is no peace without.
But what does that kind of peace look like in real life? It looks something like Jesus, asleep on a boat in the middle of a storm…
On that day, when evening had come, [Jesus] said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him.
And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
- Mark 4:35-41 (ESV)
I used to read that story and think that peace came after Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves, at the moment when the storm ceased. But now I understand that peace was on that boat even while the storm was raging, because Jesus had peace within — enough peace to sleep soundly, though everything and everyone around Him was peaceless.
Jesus demonstrated that those who are filled with the Spirit of Christ can have peace within, even in the midst of an absolutely peaceless situation.
On that particular occasion, Jesus chose to calm the storm for His disciples. But in the days and years that followed, His disciples would have to learn — His Spirit would teach them (John 14:26) — to have peace within, even in the midst of terrible storms in their lives that would not simply be calmed by Jesus on their behalf (e.g. the crucifixion of Jesus, expulsion from the synagogue, persecution, martyrdom).
Likewise, the Spirit of Christ continues to teach each one of us how we can experience His peace today in spite of our circumstances.
Regarding the question of whether there was a lack of peace within me, or a lack of peace outside of me, in the situation involving my friend — when I first began to pray, asking for peace, the answer was both. I was just like the disciples in that boat!
But then I remembered that, through the help of the Holy Spirit, I could choose to be like Jesus in the boat instead! Because His peace is my peace, if I choose to receive it!
That situation with my friend was a peaceless situation. Uncertain, worrisome, and far from tranquil. I could’ve simply absorbed all of those feelings, and all the unrest that would’ve come with them, and I could’ve let my emotions drive my actions. But instead, following Jesus’ example, I drew the boundary line outside of myself, just as God commands the ocean waves, saying, “This far you may come, and no farther” (Job 38:11a, NIV).
In Christ, we can choose to experience His peace, even when our circumstances are peaceless. But if we’re going to choose that — especially in situations where our circumstances may not get any better, or at least not anytime soon — we’re going to have to make that choice over and over again.
Each time those peaceless feelings return, and we begin to feel the full weight and worry of what is happening around us, we can choose to have peace within by remembering what Jesus taught us, by claiming the peace that’s already ours in Christ, and by reestablishing our boundaries. We can decide: Peacelessness can keep its place outside, if God allows it to remain; but it will have to stay outside, today, because it’s not welcome here, inside of me!
You and I can and will have peace, so long as we choose it for ourselves! So long as we remember that peace is ours, in Jesus. He has given it to us (John 14:27), and nothing and no one can take it away from us unless we let them!
We may not be able to control what’s happening outside of us, though we can still entrust every situation to the God of peace (Judges 6:24; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 15:33; Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 14:33; 2 Corinthians 13:11; Philippians 4:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:16; Hebrews 13:20-21).
We can, however, control what goes on within us. We can choose peace, even when what’s happening in the world around us may be uncertain, worrisome, and far from tranquil. In Christ, peace is ours for the choosing, no matter what!
Note: This is an adaptation of an article that was first published in Koinonia on October 13, 2021.
Want to read more articles like this one? Subscribe today for free, and you’ll get blog posts and updates sent straight to your inbox, so you’ll never miss a thing!
