Disturbing The Peace

It is inevitable……that break in my peace that can come in a moment’s notice. I am going along fine when either a thought or an action, or maybe even a news bulletin flashes to my attention and there goes my peace. I liken it to a rogue wave coming out of nowhere, knocking me off my feet.

What disturbs my peace is irrelevant. The fact that my peace does fluctuate is what matters.

Over the last few years, I have come to discern how I am feeling at a particular moment and connect it with the peace Jesus intends for me to have in my life. If I am feeling fear or anxiety, then I know I have allowed my peace to be disturbed.

Recently when this happened, after returning from vacation no less, I implemented what I know helps me in these situations. In fact, I stopped what I was doing as soon as I could to run to my spot on my yellow couch (this is where brave battles are fought;). As I set my mind to the practice I know will bring me back to the peace I have come to expect and enjoy, I thanked God for what He provides to all His children. His peace is unlike anything else and it has become my necessity.

Three things happen in my effort to regain my peace. These steps have become automatic over time, natural in their flow to my response of fear or anxiety.

1. Recognize– I have learned that the first step in regaining my peace is to recognize that it has been disturbed. Before, I would mindlessly wallow in the negative emotions, allowing myself to not only be knocked off my feet by the “rogue wave”, but to stay down, getting knocked about by other waves of negativity. Thankfully, what used to take longer to recover has become much faster as I have begun to pay more attention over how my emotions are affecting me. As soon as I start to feel bad, I begin to connect the dots of how I am feeling and what has precipitated it. I look to the root cause of what is driving my emotions. For instance, I recognized the day of returning from vacation, I began to feel bad because of something that was said. That is all it took for my peace to get wobbly on me. Then add in a few other remarks and there my peace is off and flying!
2. Remind– As soon as I am aware of my peace being disturbed, I remind myself of the truth about such matters.

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

I know when my peace has been disturbed that I have let something or someone hinder my faith in God. When I am feeling worry, I am in essence being faithless. I am doubting God’s ability and attention to the matter. When I obsess over the roles in my life to the neglect of my identity in life, fear and anxiety are experienced. I am a child of God first and foremost. If I allow my role as wife, mother, daughter, friend etc., to gain more of my perspective than my identity as His chosen child, then my peace is lost. I have learned this lesson the hard way! When He is my focus, I am at peace. Peace is rooted in my trust of Him. He is All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and All-Loving. I can trust that!

3.  Read– Lastly, I have learned to read my Bible to immediately stop the negative cycle I am on                and restore my peace. Why?

           Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.  Psalm 119:165

The Word is powerful in using as our weapon (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) in fighting the war against fear and anxiety. I have found reading His Word brings my peace back right where it should be. It is mine by right as a child of God, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! John 14:27 teaches me this truth, ” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” His peace is mine but sometimes I have to fight for it to be returned. Fear sends it packing but His Word brings it back.

The rogue waves in life are not under my control, but my responses to them are. I can pop right back up again, regaining the peace I am entitled to because of Calvary. By applying the process I learn from Scripture, I don’t have to allow my peace to be disturbed any longer than the time it takes for me to recognize, remind and read!

What about you? How do you respond to the waves that catch you off guard and disturb your peace? Are you like I was? Wallowing in the tide of negative emotions that can quickly get out of hand?

Try these three steps next time to see if you can recover your peace even sooner. We don’t have to settle for thoughts, words, or events to disturb our peace that Jesus intends for us. By keeping our focus on our identity in Christ and not our roles in life, we can experience His peace that is beyond our circumstances.