Inexplicable Peace When Life Happens

We recently started a new series at church that will lead us to Christmas titled Mission Possible and we kicked off with a powerful word on peace.

It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness and messiness of life that we forget to pause and consider the gift of divine peace already on offer by our heavenly Father.

When we do, we realize there’s so much to embrace of all that Christ is for us.

In John 14:27, Jesus said:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

God is not surprised by our trials

This is no ordinary promise. It comes guaranteed by Christ Himself, so we can ‘bank‘ on it.

However, notice the promise of John 14:27 does not nullify the reality of hardships… otherwise He wouldn’t say “let not your hearts be troubled.”

We all face hardships. We have anxieties. We experience lack. We have unfinished projects. We know what it means to be sick. We have doubts. We don’t know the future. We are troubled on every side.

Yet, none of these are detours in God’s plan for the believer but ordained to bring about His glory and our good in the end, even though they don’t feel like it in the moment — Romans 8:28.

God is not surprised by our trials. Instead, He wants us to respond with faith and submission to His sovereignty over our lives // Inexplicable Peace When Life Happens Click To Tweet

I always find James 5:11 encouraging. Regardless of all that Job experienced, God was actively working out His own purpose, in and through Job’s suffering. In the end, it was for Job’s good and God’s glory.

Let me remind you: God is not surprised by your hardships. If He brings you to it, He will take you through it.

Don’t struggle alone

I wasn’t planning to write this section in the post but I have a feeling someone needs to hear this: don’t struggle alone.

My family is part of a cell group that meets each week and, for us, this is where we ‘do life’ in community. It’s such a blessing.

It’s hard enough to struggle with all the health, financial, emotional and spiritual issues you’re dealing with. But to do it all alone is asking for more than you can bear. God didn’t design life that way.

While God has promised to bear our burden, He often uses people to be His face, hands and feet to run His errands in our lives.

Don’t isolate yourself. Don’t store up your fears and anxieties. Otherwise, one day they will explode. If you are struggling, ask and seek help from the community of believers around you.

Don’t struggle alone.

Embrace the peace we can’t explain

There is a peace we cannot explain.

It’s the peace that acknowledges the presence of our problems and still CHOOSE to rejoice.

It is the peace whose anchor and hope is Christ, not man.

It is the peace that recognizes that the devil has done his worst and you’re still standing, kept by grace alone.

It is the peace that beggars belief and confounds the devil. This peace is a deep work of the Holy Spirit.

“Peace is not found in the absence of troubles but in the presence of Jesus. And we experience this peace when our mind is tethered to the unchanging God.” — Pastor Wayne Wilson, PCF Church // Inexplicable Peace When Life Happens Click To Tweet

Life may never become a bed of roses but you can resolve to embrace the peace that can’t be explained and deepen your joy in Christ with every passing day — Colossians 3:15, Isaiah 26:3, John 14:1.

Photo by Colton Duke on Unsplash.