Finding Peace

Finding peace in challenging times is extremely hard. It is exhausting to filter out the cultural chaos of the constant and sometimes conflicting media reports to understand the truth. Making it more difficult is that we live in a time when the truth is relative. There is so much information; you can prove almost anything as true. The saying is: “Figures lie, and liars figure.”

Even as Christians, we are on opposing sides. After Abraham Lincoln’s death, the following note was found in his papers: “The will of God prevails – In great contests, each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong. God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same time. In the present civil war, it is quite possible that God’s purpose is somewhat different from the purpose of either party.”

During the Civil War, Lincoln met with a group of ministers at a prayer breakfast who tried to encourage him. They told the president that they had prayed that “God would be on our side.” Lincoln corrected them, saying, “No, gentlemen, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”

Remember, God wins.

I rest on one simple fact; God loves me unconditionally and wants the best for me. That is the filter I use to judge all thoughts and actions. We have the Presidential Election, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter protests all climaxing to distract us from our one real focus. Everyone who prays will not get the answer they desire. Peace will not come from the right party winning or the distribution of a vaccine or even resolution of centuries of bigotry and hate. Something else will always rise to take their place. We will never live in a perfect world this side of heaven.

So how do I stop my mind from leap-frogging from issue to issue seeking peace? How do I convince myself that just like the latest car or a better job or a bigger house won’t provide long term peace, neither will solving worldly problems? It is paramount that we continuously strive to eliminate injustice, famine, and disease, but that fight will never end, it will just change venues, and we should change with it. It is part of our Christian charter to fight evil on all fronts.

If you believe that you can not achieve peace and joy until all of the world’s problems are solved, you will remain an unhappy camper until your death. You have to find something above that. You have to find something that is long-lasting and perfect. Folks, it is not here.

No matter how any of this flush out, I rest in the palm of God’s hand. He will not allow harm to touch me. I may suffer, but it will not shake me. For me to put my peace in the hands of non-believers doesn’t make sense. To have the world work out to the benefit of those who do not love Him doesn’t bring me peace. The only peace I will ever have is the peace I receive because I have accepted His way over mine.

The truth remains that had all of us, worldwide, chose to live according to God’s promise, little of this would have ever come to fruition. We would have solved the problems before they became problems; we would have treated each other with love and respect. But we didn’t.

To expect to have peace only after all have been blessed with peace is foolish thinking. My peace comes from my relationship with Christ, and the world’s peace comes from their relationship with Him. When I make my peace conditional to their peace, I lose.

Fight the good fight. Make a positive difference in the world. Never accept inequality or evil. But remember your strength does not come from the fight, but from the God, for whom you fight. Fight for Christ to rule over all, and peace will follow. Both sides can’t win, accept that God’s plan may not be our plan.