LASTING PEACE

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”

If we took a poll to identify what people want most out of life, what their hopes and dreams revolve around, the list would probably include things like good health; financial prosperity; positive relationships; rewarding work. And who could argue with any of those things? Who wouldn’t one want to be healthy and wealthy, with a great career, and a loving family? But there’s a more fundamental need we have; a deeper desire, and that’s the desire for personal peace. Peace of mind. Freedom from fear and worry; freedom from trouble and distress. Most people, in their daily lives, are searching for peace; doing what they can to avoid the painful turbulence of life. They diet and exercise to avoid poor health, because illness would threaten their peace. They work, and save, and invest to avoid financial hardship, because poverty would upset their peace. And they choose to enter into relationships with people they like, relationships they hope will bring peace, rather than conflict. In other words, one of the strongest motives behind the way we live is a desire for personal peace.

Does it work? Do our efforts bring us peace? Yes. But only to a limited extent, and only for a limited time. If we’re lucky and diligent, we can keep the forces of chaos at bay, at least for a while. But eventually, and inevitably, something will break through; something we can’t control; something we don’t anticipate. And then the carefully constructed world of peace and order that we’ve labored so hard to build will come crashing down. Sometimes it happens without warning – a pink slip, a sudden illness, a fire, an arrest, an emotional breakdown. And sometimes it develops over time, in spite of all our efforts to stop it. A slowly deteriorating marriage. A long stock-market slide that erodes our savings. A chronic medical condition that becomes less and less manageable. And besides all these things, all these private threats to our peace, we live in a dangerous and unpredictable world, in which we’re constantly at risk from things like wars, and terrorist attacks, and natural disasters. It’s no wonder, then, that Henry David Thoreau would write this:

"The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country . . . A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind."

In general, people fail to find lasting peace because they are looking for it in the wrong place. They are seeking peace in pleasant circumstances. They think that if they can eliminate from their lives all sources of pain and conflict, they will be at peace. But this strategy has two fatal flaws. First, it just isn’t possible. We simply don’t have the ability to control all the chaotic forces at work in our lives. No one does. We may succeed for a while, but any peace that arises from our circumstances will be tenuous and temporary. Something will always come along to burst the bubble. What we need is a peace that is not dependent on circumstances.

The other reason that a peace built on circumstances won’t last is that peace is a matter of the heart. It’s internal, not external. And so any successful effort to find true peace must focus on what’s inside us, not on what’s going on around us. True peace comes from God. Not from things, not from circumstances, not from people, but from God. If you lack peace, seek it in God. If you desire peace, look to God. He alone can quiet your heart; he alone can give rest to your soul. And he will, if you seek him and place your trust in Him.