How to Win Back Peace
What does the Bible say about obtaining inner peace? For a deeper dive, make sure you're subscribed to my monthly newsletter by clicking here!
In a world that feels like it’s growing more chaotic by the day, it’s easy for our minds to feel overwhelmed. We’re trying to meet everyday demands, be responsible with our time and finances, eat 3 healthy high-protein meals, and get sunlight in our eyes first thing in the morning. There’s a lot on our plates the moment our feet hit the floor in the morning.
You add on a mind that is grieving. A mind that is recovering from trauma. A mind that feels stuck in a fight-or-flight state, replaying traumatic scenes as if there were a movie playing at all times.
Society will frequently try to tell us that peace is the absence of conflict, absence of stress, and absence of troubles in our lives. The world defines peace as “freedom from a disturbance.” It can also be described as being free from internal or external strife. There is a huge priority placed on “finding inner peace.” All over the internet, you see “gurus” giving their version of Ted Talks on how we can become our own source of inner peace. They emphasize things like meditation, yoga, chakras, herbs, and even spiritual guides.
But what does the Bible say about obtaining inner peace?
Philippians 4 lays out a map for us on cultivating peace. It starts with, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (4:7).
When we feel anxious, what we are actually feeling is worried. Our remedy for worry is prayer. When we pray, we bring our need, our specific concern, to the Lord, but with a worshipful attitude. When we shape our prayers around thanksgiving, it shapes our hearts into a state of gratitude, no matter our circumstances. In response to this, the peace that surpasses our earthly knowledge takes over, even when we don’t have an explanation.
Moving on to verse 8, it says, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable - dwell on those things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9).
Let’s break these things down.
What is the meaning of “true” here? It means accurate.
What about “honorable”? It means noble, to be respected.
What is” just”? People getting what they deserve.
What is “pure"? Holy, concerning God.
What is “lovely"? Here, it means attractive, in God’s eyes.
What is “commendable"? It means praiseworthy.
Minds that dwell on these seven things are minds that feel true peace.
Minds that focus on accurate things, things that are noble, things that are holy, things that are attractive in God’s eyes, and things that are praiseworthy are minds that will feel at peace.
We tend to get into trouble because most of the time our fleshly behavior causes us to focus on the things in our life that are negative. It focuses on the things we don’t have. On the things that make us feel like we’re not good enough. This is especially true with the presence of social media in our lives today (please make sure you’re putting that phone down sometimes).
We often try to obtain peace in the wrong way. We think peace will be found by changing our circumstances. By getting rid of the “disturbance” that is going on in our lives. By getting rid of the external stressors.
I know for me I’ve had many moments where I think, “If I wasn’t so busy homeschooling my kids I’d have so much more time to get things done.” Or, “If we had a bigger house, it wouldn’t feel so stressful when one room is a mess.” Or “If we just had more help with the kids we could spend more time together as husband and wife.”
Peace is not the absence of troubles. Peace is the presence of God.
Peace is a gift offered by God, but it is one we must actively choose to pursue.
Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
When it says, “fruit of the spirit,” this is referring to the analogy of Christ as our vine, us as the branches, and when we abide in Him, when we remain in Him, the seed that is planted in us produces the fruit of love, produces joy, produces peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Scripture promises us that in this life we will face troubles, but we can choose to remain peaceful in seasons of external unrest.
We must remember that we have an active role to play when it comes to chasing peace. We were given free will, which means we can choose to chase peace or we can choose to run from it.
True peace, as described in scripture, is not just the absence of external strife, but it is the profound presence of God within us. This divine peace, rooted deeply in faith, provides stability and comfort even amidst the storms of life. It is a peace that surpasses human understanding, anchored in the unwavering love and sovereignty of God.
As we navigate the challenges of this life, if we can embrace this biblical view of peace, it can transform our approach to everyday challenges, grounding us in the assurance that we are never alone.
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This month we will dive deeper into rediscovering peace in God’s presence, steps you can take today to cultivate peace, as well as tips I practice still to this day.
Hope to see you there!
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