True peace

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God, you give true peace to people who depend on you, to those who trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

We might not realize it, but God's desire is for us to walk in true peace, not the temporary peace of the world that we sometimes refer to as 'happiness'. Happiness is situational - God's true peace is there all the time - even in the roughest of times. The world offers us 'sanctuary peace' - get away, relax, take your mind off the issues at hand, and restore. God offers 'true peace' - in the midst of the chaos, with pressures mounting, his peace permeates the crevices of our heart, mind, and emotions.

There is a condition to true peace, though. It is that we move from a place of 'self-dependence' (doing things our way, in our timing, with whatever effort we can exert) into a place of dependence upon him. What does this dependence look like? If we are looking only at what we can see on the surface, there might be evidence of 'emotional balance' - not overreacting, taking things in stride. There could also be a sense of wisdom in the choices that are being made - not rashly doing this or that but taking reasonable steps in God's perfect timing.

In Christ Jesus, we face life's challenges a bit differently that the world does. We have learned to trust in his power and strength - leaning into the wisdom he brings - listening intently for his direction. We don't take the 'opinion' of those who don't trust in Jesus as gospel, but rather seek truth, learning when to move as he directs. The more we come to know the love and grace of Jesus, the deeper our trust in who he is, what he does, and how he accomplishes things within our lives. That deep trust is the basis of true peace.

The world will tout that we need to gauge our actions based upon whether they produce 'happiness' within our lives. If we all lived to do or say whatever made us 'happy' we'd be a rather fickly lot! Happiness is elusive, but peace is permanent. Happiness is based upon circumstances, but peace is based in the person of Jesus. The foundation of each is different - the sooner we realize that the sooner we will learn to walk in true peace! Just sayin!

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