In May 2017 I posted a blog entitled, A Missing Piece…or Peace. At the outset I had focussed my thoughts on a puzzle my husband and I were doing and shared how futile and frustrating our efforts had been since, when completed, a piece was missing. But there was a happy ending to that story, an ending that was impossible to share at the time of writing the blog. As it turned out, three weeks later, and quite by accident, the ‘lost’ had been ‘found,’ and the puzzle was placed on our shelf to await a repeat performance.
I had also shared that in telling my story about the incomplete puzzle, I had inadvertently typed peace when I had intended to type piece. This resulted in my blog taking a different direction than had been my original intent. (Interesting how God directs our thoughts…and our fingers!) Now, five years later I am compelled to write about peace again, only this time intentionally, without the help of a missing puzzle piece.
To say that the world in which we live—and for sure our country—is in a state of perpetual crisis would be an understatement. It seems that on a regular basis we are exposed to deplorable leadership, unfounded accusations, and biased opinions. So, what do we do? Whom should we trust? Where do we turn for peace?
These are all good questions, but we must take great care where and from whom we seek answers. If the wrong people are asked, their answers could easily inflame the current crisis. If we place our hope and trust in people who denounce God, ridicule those who seek guidance from Him, belittle those who view God as the One who controls the world, or blindly follow the biased directives of authority, the desired peace is unattainable. Why? Because these individuals offer no solid foundation on which to find the peace we so earnestly desire and need. That can only be found in God.
We read in the 23rd Psalm that a shepherd guides his sheep to stop and rest by still, quiet waters [not fast running currents], where they will be refreshed and their energy restored. His continual presence provides calm and reassurance and they are at peace.
In much the same way, as our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus has our utmost care in mind. He desires to refresh us and restore our energy, and we can rest, completely content with His management of our lives. He has never failed us, and He never will. While there have been times of disappointments and difficulties and turmoil in our fallen world, He has always kept His promise to be ever-present. “Each time we go through a valley and get to the other side, we look back and realize that God was there with us even though at the time, we thought He had deserted us” (David Roper). The Lord is our Shepherd; we need no other.
As the shepherd provides peace and calm for his sheep, so God provides
peace and a calm that comes only from trusting Him. His care is the antidote for fear and anxiety; He is the source of indescribable peace. Yes, we are in a troubled world, and from the track record of humans over countless generations, the world is not getting better. And it never will. But as Jesus encouraged His disciples in His last moments of ministry with them, so He encourages us today: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
I know a peace, where there is no peace,
A calm, where wild winds blow,
A secret place where face to face
With the Master I may go.
~Ralph Spaulding Cushman~
Follow Me!