You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3 NIVUK
I spent some time living in a church apartment in Medias, in Romania. Now the apartment did not have a nice exterior. It was a not exactly Instagram-worthy four-story grey Communist concrete pile. But it was safe.
One particularly balmy summer night, I could feel the temperature drop suddenly. I knew that a storm was coming, so I was quick to run into the apartment block. Sure enough, the rain came, the sky darkened, thunder rumbled and I was treated to the most spectacular electrical storm. I stood at my window and watched in awe as lightening struck the Hungarian church across the road. While people beneath me ran for cover from the wind, the rain and the lightening, I gazed on in awe at the awesome power of nature. I was utterly calm. Those who had chosen to not take shelter were not. I had double-glazed thermopan windows and several inches of concrete between me and the storm, so I was fine.
That's a nice image, but even this cannot match the full splendour of what we are promised here. You see, what we see here is not peace in the sense of an absence of war, not even the absence of internal struggle, and definitely not in the spaced-out, stoned hippy, "Peace, man!" sense of the word. No, what we see here is the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom is not just a nice greeting. It is defined as "wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety and prosperity, carrying with it the implication of permanence."
There is a twist with these verses. You see, the word "perfect" isn't there in the Hebrew. Instead, this verse actually says "shalom, shalom". Now, I don't believe that Isaiah had a stutter. What he was saying here is that God promises a double measure, or peace squared, if you like, for those who follow Him - or, as our Bible translators put it, perfect peace. Perfect peace in the middle of a storm. Perfect peace in the middle of deep uncertainty.
As I wrote these words, I heard that, like millions of others, I'd been placed on furlough. This wasn't easy. But I believed in the God of Peace and I believed in the Gospel of Peace. Three and a half months later, I was recalled to work. At a time when many, including in my own company, were facing the prospect of losing their work. God gave me scerenity when I needed it, sometimes through gritted teeth, and brought me through one of the scariest times of my life.
Isaiah brought this message to a people reeling from the death of a good king, and surrounding enemy powers who were waiting to pounce. Listen to these timely words:
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 NIVUK
When Jesus was born - again into a time of intense turmoil as the Romans dominated the land - the angels gave these words to the shepherds:
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.’
Luke 2:13-14 NIVUK
When Jesus was approaching the cross and needed to prepare His disciples to face the most intense turmoil of their lives, He said these words:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27 NIVUK
‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’
John 16:33 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.16.33.NIVUK
And when Jesus was raised from the dead, what did He say to His disciples?
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’
John 20:19 NIVUK
You see, we believe in the Gospel of Peace - not just in the sense of bringing emnity between men to an end; not just in resolving conflicts and reconciling people, but also in the sense of peace of mind, of wholeness, of serenity, even in midst of turmoil, upheaval and uncertainty. We believe that God is like that communist tower block: that He shelters us from the storms of life, and because of that we know and feel peace.
Or do we?
How many of us read the news and have nightmares? How many catastrophise and imagine a situation an order of magnitude worse than it actually is? How many of us waste our time and energy in a blind panic because we don't have the answers and we simply are not in control? Far many than would like to admit it.
Because deep down we know the truth: acting like this is the opposite of faith.
These reactions are not the reactions of someone who is trusting God.
But there's a twist, isn't there? We become anxious, desperate, paranoid, and then we blame God. "You told me I would have peace! Peace squared! I don't have it! It's your fault?"
Really? Let's think this through.
The Lord has said that He will keep us. The Lord has said that He will give us perfect peace. The Lord has given us the Gospel of Peace. He even promises to meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:31-34; Psalms 37:25).
There are many of us who have cashed that particular cheque so many times; who have seen the Lord's goodness and provision up close and personal.
Yet still we worry. Worse, we actually choose to worry.
And then we wonder why we don't have peace?
Peace doesn't come because of our circumstances. I've known occasions in my life when I've had a good salary, but no peace. I've also had no salary and felt perfect peace. No, peace comes despite our circumstances, more often than not.
If we want to experience true peace, we must separate the two. Our peace cannot come from our circumstances.
I've spent a lot of time in two developing countries in particular. I've ridden a lot of vehicles that would fail the British MOT roadworthiness test at first glance. I've bounced along more potholed roads in vehicles with bad shock absorbers than my poor spine would ever care to remember.
The thing about shock absorbers is that they give you a comfortable journey on a nice road, but you really need them on a bad one. It's the same with peace. We don't notice it when life is easy. But when life is hard, it becomes the shock absorber that helps us get through whatever is happening to us. In good times, it's hardly there. There is no contrast. But true Christian peace - shalom squared - shines in the darkness when the contrast is greatest.
So here's the real question: how is your peace? Does it really help you make it more comfortably down life's potholed roads, or do you only feel it on the smoothest of highways? The first two aspects of peace are all about what God does for us. The second two are about what we do to hold onto God's peace. It's a bit like someone trapped on a cliff edge. The mountain rescue team can throw them a rope. But to make it to safety they need to hold onto that rope with everything they have. Now we have seen the rope, we will now examine our grip on it. In my next post, we will look at STRENGTH.
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