Peace

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."

John 14:27

Tragedy often hits like an earthquake. In a few short seconds, the world as one knows it is transformed with great suffering and loss. Sometimes it comes in a phone call...a knock at the door....or, in an e-mail. The event is forever burned into one's memory bank as the pain sears it so that one can never forget. Every human being experiences loss. It is part of life. The worst thing about the tragedy of loss is not just the immediate condition one experiences; but, it is the crippling perpetual fear of future losses. Anticipation of "the worst" can taint every day of one's life for years to come. Yet, God tells us not to fear. In fact, He tells us to trust wholly in Him. How does that work when the fear is there and very real? How can it work?

Fear is natural, and it is a normal response to uncertainty and danger. Yet, fear is not a virtue like caution or prudence. Fear simply robs our lives of joy.. The question is therefore, how do we face joblessness or drive on bad tires we can't afford to replace? How do we remember the loss of a child and not cling desperately to the children we have left? How do we live in peace and victory?

Certainly trusting God and putting Him first is the answer. But, while it is easy to say we need to trust God, it is often much harder to do. Simon Peter knew Jesus personally and had watched him perform many miracles. Yet, when he jumped out of the boat to walk out to Jesus on the water, he still became frightened by the wind and waves. And, when his fears kicked in, he began to sink. I understand Peter; I am just like him; and, I suspect that everyone else is also.

So, how can one stop being afraid of the wind and waves when they roar above us and are about to crash down upon us?

Step #1: Discover Who God is.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." -2 Timothy 3:16

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." -John 16:13-14

It's difficult to trust a stranger. If one wishes to conquer fear, one has to start by truly getting to know who God is by prayerfully reading through His Word. We also need to ask God for the guidance of His Spirit. God is glad to give us His Spirit to help us (Luke 11:11-13).

Step #2: Discover that God is love.

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear. Fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love." 1 John 4:18

When God says He loves us, we believe Him. It's not humble to say, "Oh, I'm not important to God." God knows the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:29-31). You are extremely valuable to Him. No matter what one feels (feelings come and go with hormones and food),every human being needs to just start taking God at His word. He said He loves us. By faith, we should believe Him.

God does love us. He lavishes us with value. He loves us so much that He allowed His precious Son to be mocked and beaten and slaughtered in order to buy us back from death. It wasn't a whim. It was the amazing, deep, true love of a mighty God. We need to choose to believe that what Jesus did on the cross is our only hope of salvation.

We also need to remember that He doesn't love us because of how good we are. He loves us because of how good He is. That means that when we've had a really rotten day and we've messed up, we don't have to run and hide from Him. We can run to Him and seek His healing and cleansing right away.

Step #3: We love God back.

"We love him, because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19

How do we love God? We obey Him (John 14:15). And when we fail, we quickly confess and repent from sin. We listen to Him. We trust Him. We worship Him. He gave His Son for us, which alone is worth all the rejoicing in the world.

Praise and worship brings about amazing results. The anomaly is that when we need Him the most, Satan will do whatever he can to keep us away from the body of Christ. Fear, resentment, anger, bitterness are the tools that the evil one uses to separate us when we are hurting from the body of Christ. The battle is always there. The question is: "What will you choose to do about it?" We can say, "I believe you love me," but turning that into, "Thank you for loving me," makes all the difference. We can praise God for His protection, thank Him for His love, delight ourselves in Him. It is safe in His arms. It is safe living in the center of His will, no matter where His will leads us. And, as we praise Him and worship Him and enjoy Him, the fear cannot remain. That is why being part of a family of God that gathers regularly to worship is so necessary for one's spiritual well-being. We were made to be part of a family. There are no "Lone Ranger" Christians because Christ is the head of his church.

Step #4: We remember that our lives are not our own.

" What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1Corinthians 6:19-20

One song's lyrics say: "Thank you, Jesus, for the life you've given me. Thank you, Jesus, for the things I cannot see. I will worship you, the great and might Prince of Peace. I will honor you, Lord of Love, King of Kings. Here's my life a sacrifice to you. Here's my life a sacrifice to you."

When our lives truly belong to Christ and we are wholly given over to His purposes, then we know that every thing – even tragedy – will be used for excellent, wonderful things. He can use it all. As Paul said:

¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Fear sometimes seems unbeatable. For each of us, our fears are very real. Salt water up one's sinuses can be painful each time we crash under the ocean waves. But, in God's power and in God's eyes, this is nothing. To God, the terrible monsters that we see rise up above us and which threaten our very existence are merely origami tigers. They look fierce: but, in God's hands we are in no real danger. God does not need a good economy to provide for us and pay our bills. If He sees fit to give us a broken down car to drive, then He is capable of holding that broken down car together for us. He can protect our children and our loved ones. He alone can heal our hearts, and He is never worried.