Peace is not something we often just stumble upon, but rather it is something that is sought out and not always easy to find. In order to find peace, we first have to examine what causes us to not have peace. We can look at not having peace in a very personal and specific way (which I will leave for you to do yourself), but also in a more general and fundamental way. Just as the church is not a building but is made up of people, so the world is also made up of people. What plagues the world is sin which is encouraged by the Enemy. It is surprising (although maybe it shouldn’t be) that the sin that is at the root of all sins and the lie that the Enemy feeds us daily are one and the same. The sin and lie is that everything is about ME. Our fleshly desires tell us that what we want is more important than what anyone else (including God) wants. We put ourselves in the center of the world. This is called selfish pride and it is the root of all sin. However, there is not only our selfish pride at work in this world, but the Enemy is at work as well, doing his best to continuously pull us away from God. He does this in many ways, but one of his most successful ploys is to tell us that we are alone. We are told that no one else is struggling the way that we are, that no one can possibly understand our specific situation. This is a lie and a very believable one. It is easy for it to be snuck into our television programs, podcasts, books and daily conversations and if we are not careful we start to believe it. All at once we are struggling with both our selfish pride and feeling that we are alone. These concepts are held in tension inside each of us leading to a world driven by division and anxiety.
This tension in our lives leads us to seek out peace and we often do that in some of the worst ways: digital distractions; harmful relationships; substance abuse and filling our schedules with busyness. At first these things may seem like solutions to division and anxiety but they ultimately lead back to selfish pride and loneliness. However, there is a path to peace and it is a path we do not have to walk alone.
1. Walk with Jesus through scripture and prayer
When we choose to follow Jesus we begin to see that this world is not our home. We have an eternal purpose that allows us to focus on things beyond what is here on earth. The goals and dreams that the world tells us are important begin to fade when we spend time with our Lord. In the book of Philippians, the Apostle Paul encourages us to rejoice in the Lord and says,
“6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Philipians 4:6-9 (NIV)
Through Christ we are given access to a relationship with the living God and He will give us peace.
2. Recognize and fight the lie
If we are not aware that the Enemy is constantly trying to lead us to believe that we are alone then we do not have the fortitude to be able to fight that lie with the truth. The truth is we are never alone, there is someone in this world who knows exactly what you are struggling with. Someone (and often someone close by) knows what you are going through because they have gone through themselves and they are able to have empathy. When you are not afraid to admit you are struggling and ask for help, you often find that person very quickly. God has given us a community to belong to, the church, where we can find this empathy. “24b But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. 27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:24b-27 (ESV)
Through this community we are able to combat the lie the Enemy feeds us and find peace in the community of believers.
3. Serve others
When the tension of selfish pride and feeling alone builds inside of us, one of the best things we can do is to serve someone else. We often spend a lot of our time and mental energy thinking about division and dealing with our anxieties but that energy can be better spent by getting outside of ourselves and serving others. To serve someone means that you set your priorities aside and put someone else’s needs before your own. As co-heirs with Christ we are called to be like Jesus in every way. In Matthew 20:28 Jesus says, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (ESV)
When we fully commit to being like Christ and serving others, suddenly our problems and struggles seem smaller. We find peace in meeting the needs of someone else and being like Jesus.
Finding peace in a world driven by division and anxiety is not easy but we have been given a path to find it through Jesus.
