Peace That Makes No Sense
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5:22-23
I just love the word peace. I say it, and immediately feel this sort of exhale in my chest. It’s an area I am working on, especially because it doesn’t mean only one thing at given moment. Even in Galations 5, it’s not exactly clear what type of peace Paul is talking about.
There are three main areas of peace that we are able to experience as result of a relationship with Jesus: peace with God, peace for God, and peace of God. We’ll spend most of our time today on that last one. But for for clarity we’ll take a moment and define the first two.
We get to enter into peace with God as a result of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; where we were once enemies of God, we are now at peace.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Roman 5:1-2.
This truth is the foundation of the gospel message, and everyone who hears it is invited to respond. Yet, in regard to fruit of Spirit, something Paul suggests can be grown and cultivated, this is likely not the type of peace he’s speaking about.
The second is peace for God, that is the peace that God calls us to in regard to one another, as clearly stated in Romans 12:18. “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
In an increasingly divided world, where politics, opinions, war, and even cancel culture create barriers, this is absolutely a lacking heart posture the Holy Spirit desires to grow within us. We enter in this peace for God, because it is peace God calls us to as his followers. This peace is expressed through our obedience. The upshot is a life lived without the stress of unnecessarily strained relationships. We win when we live this way, and it is absolutely a fruit of the Spirit.
For our time together today, we’ll be primarily looking at the peace of God. That is, the gift of internal stillness and security as we increasingly trust God’s control and will for our lives. This is also a fruit of the Spirit.
This peace is what we’re after when we flock to yoga studios and mindfulness retreats. I daresay we even market it as something that can be bought. This inner-peace is what’s in short-supply amidst the anxiety epidemic in our country, now affecting over 6.8 million people and counting. I’ve seen my own fair share of struggle in this area, and here’s what I’ve learned: when I see God moving in my life or in the lives of those around me, I’m less anxious. This means, if I want peace, I need to be on the lookout for him.
I learned this lesson a few years ago, when my daughter Raina fell about 30-feet out of a tree. She landed face-first on the frozen early-March ground, yet miraculously broke no bones. However, she sustained several severe concussions. On the way to ER and for hours afterwards, her memory kept resetting every minute and half. As she endured x-rays and MRIs, I answered her exact same list of questions over and over and over. Raina’s final question before her memory reset was always, “Mom, will you pray with me?” And as I prayed, she’d interrupt me all over again and we were right back at the beginning, “Where am I? Why does my hip hurt so much?”
I should have been terrified in that hospital; instead the strangest sense of peace overcame me. I believe the Holy Spirit was answering our prayers in real-time. I became what my kids now call “creepy mom calm” and was able to care for my daughter in the manner in which she needed in the moment. It was such a gift.
In the months that followed, we had an uphill climb. If her body was badly bruised, her brain was even more so. Raina’s memory was continuing to reset every 7 minutes for weeks afterward. She retained all of her longterm memories, but was unable to make any new ones. Light, sound and motion were incredibly difficult for her to endure, and often quite painful. My husband and I moved her out of her shared room with her sister, and into our bedroom with brand-new blackout curtains, while we set up an air mattress in the living room for the next foreseeable future. Migraines, mood swings, and uncertainty became her norm. Her doctors and specialists prepared us for the reality that there was no guarantee any of this would ever change. It was a wait and see game.
Yet, I can tell you of God’s overwhelming kindness during this time. He placed people in our path time and again in such a way that it was clear his hand was on us. We encountered doctors and neurologists we’d never before met who prayed over my daughter in exam rooms. I was introduced to a visiting teacher from another state at my Bible study the very next week who had a child who experienced something similar, and offered us hard won resource after resource to help us better understand how to help our daughter. These are just a few of the many examples of God’s provision during this time. People were in the exact places we needed when we needed them. It was remarkable.
And perhaps the sweetest kindness of all was Raina herself. Among other areas in her brain, Raina had significantly bruised the part that held her personality. Doctors warned us that she would almost definitely experience mercurial mood-swings of sadness, anger and depression. I braced myself for this reality and prayed for the strength and wisdom to know how to best help her when it arrived. It never did.
Not once did Raina’s mood-swings get dark or even remotely angry or afraid. In fact, she got happier and sillier. I remember clearly a several minute long laughing fit she had over the word “papaya.” I remember because it caused me to weep in other room as a wave of gratitude and relief washed over me. I knew God was protecting my heart and hers.
Through all of this, God gave me a peace that made no sense from the outside. Exodus 14:14 became my mantra, “The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still.” And he was, and he did. I was powerless to heal her. You couldn’t even see her injury or track her healing like you could a broken bone. It was all up to God, and he was letting us watch him work.
Philippians 4:6-7 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Before Raina’s fall, I actually disliked this verse. It felt flippant and dismissive of the anxiety that still peppers my adult life (and that of so many others). Since Raina’s accident I have new understanding. I’ve experienced the peace transcends understanding, and I now know it’s gift.
What Paul is saying in these verses is that we should take that anxiety and use it as fuel for prayer. It’s not dismissive. Then look around for how God is working, and thank him for it —much like my daughter’s papaya-inspired laughing fit did for me. Each time I saw God work, my peace re-upped. Peace sustained in my heart in that season because He was the only thing sustaining me.
I’m beyond thankful to report that although it took the better part of a year, Raina made a full recovery. She still has no memory of any of it, but there are no significant side effects from the fall either. She’s still a thrill-seeking adventurer, and still unafraid of heights, to my both my joy and dismay. She’s currently a sophomore in college, where her big, brilliant, beautiful brain is growing by leaps and bounds. I can’t wait to see how God will continue to use her life to minister to mine, and so many others.
So, my friends, here’s the takeaway: if you want inner-peace, place your trust in Christ. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” 1 Peter 5:7. Trust he is already at work, and go find out where. Hunt for signs of him moving. When you see it, praise him for it. Peace will come.
One of the hardest lessons here is that f we want a peace that surpasses understanding we’re going to have to be a position where peace makes no sense. If you are in this place today, take heart. I’ve been there and it is hard. Hold fast; his promises are true.
When Jesus told his disciples that it was better that he was leaving because the Holy Spirit would come as their guide, he gave them this encouragement: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,” John 16:33.
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