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Peace beyond all measure

Every time I think about peace, I think of the movie, Miss Congeniality where she closed off her answer, to a question that was asked, with the sentence “And World Peace.” And then while I am typing it like this, I cannot help but wonder if I have not written something similar to this? I cannot remember, because I write as much as what I talk and talk as much as what I write. None the less, this month’s scripture is about God’s peace that exceeds anything we will ever understand and experience. This whole month I was waiting in anticipation of experiencing it (because I have experienced it before) but it is as if it was dodging me the whole time.

Then I realise that this month’s circumstances is of such a nature, that I experienced peace like the world offers it. Sort of. I went to Google the proper definition of peace, as the dictionary explains and describes it. Unlike the Afrikaans definition that I Googled referring me to Wikipedia, I found the English definition from the Oxford Languages Dictionary. The definition is said to be freedom from disturbance, tranquillity. A state or period in which there is no war, or a war has ended.

While reading this, it struck me. On the surface it seems that there are no disturbances and actually a state of tranquillity, no war going on. However, on my own I have declared war against the webpage of an institution that does not want to work as it should. No one declared war against me, so theoretically it is not a state of war. I will not blame and shame the institution, because the purpose of this blog is not to sweep people up to be negative. But silently I have this war against this webpage, with an outlook that I will win and get everything submitted on time and before or on the due date of 31 May and not miss the deadline.

So, if I then have this silent war that I declared against this webpage, then I do not have God’s peace, do I? In worldly terms I actually have peace, even if the webpage is not working. It is not going terrible with me. I mean, no one has declared a physical war against me, this is just another thing that I have to deal with and resolve and can be seen as part of the day job. You know, the saying, every sport has its injuries? This is now one of those everyday injuries of the “sport” that I exercise daily when it comes to the day job.

The whole time while I am working, struggling to get things done, I get frustrated and irritated. So for sure I do not have God’s peace. And then in the process, the frustrations make me slap my hands together out of pure disbelief, or hitting the table that I am working on, unintentionally jump scaring my husband, who is working in the same office. Of course, the words that come with the frustrations want to be uttered and I have to focus really hard not to say them, but I must confess, I do not always get it right. So, you see, I feel I do not have the peace of God that this text is referring to.

Because this is peace that exceeds anything we can understand, peace that the world cannot offer us. And this peace guards our hearts and minds. Which implies I will not slap my hands in frustration or utter words that I should not be said. Now I have experienced God’s peace and I must say, that is a very nice place to be in. Even if it is chaotic around me, I cannot help but experience His peace that exceeds all things I have ever experienced. This is something that I long for on a daily basis in my life. In spite of my silent and self-proclaimed war, I feel some form of peace inside of me.

I can almost feel how the Holy Spirit is gently blowing peace into my spirit. Here I am now, war halfway won, busy making other plans to ensure that I will get all submitted on time, keeping my side clean so that no one can turn around and say Sorry nê, your submission was not on time and therefore we are levying a penalty. Even if the late submission was not my fault and that of the system, the outlook is always that penalties will be levied if not submitted on time.

As I close off this article, I think I understand better what is meant with the peace like the world offers. You see, all of us, myself included, can get so worked up when things do not go according to plan. It is not the end of the world and everything does not fall apart, but things are just not working as they should. It is in these moments of frustration and being worked up, that we miss God’s peace and just experience the peace like the world offers us. Does it make sense what I am trying to say?

The long and the short is, we must not fall for the devils lies, hook, line and sinker. We do not have to get worked up and miss God’s peace in the process. We do not have to be content with the peace like the world offers us. If we miss God’s peace, then we are missing the guidance He is offering us in our lives…. ever thought about it in this manner? What are you choosing today? Are you choosing to get all worked up, being frustrated about that which is not working? Are you giving space for things and stuff, other than that which is from God, to guide your mind? I know that I want God’s peace AND His guidance in my life, irrespective of the circumstances.

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