Stayed upon God, hearts are fully blessed, finding as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Frances Ridley

Peace is not the absence of trouble but the presence of God.

John Robert

Our society is strenuous and hurried. We live under constant internal and external demand. Many demands we face are unrealistic or a facade. Most days are a struggle to find any glimmer of peace. In addition to all the demands of life, we experience the pain of grief. All of this burden can push us to our limits and test the depth of our resilience. Sometimes it feels like our hearts are breaking, and sometimes we worry that we will lose our minds. Both our hearts and our minds need protection. Humanity will never escape the distress of this world. In this world of hardship, trial and trouble we all desperately need the peace of God to transcend our temporal problems.

Only with a sovereign God can we find peace in the midst of life’s deepest pain. When we position ourselves to accept the gift of peace and we allow ourselves to be honest and vulnerable, it feels like we will be overwhelmed. In these moments we can find courage in God’s promise of protection. God’s peace can guard our breaking hearts and our troubled minds. God can be trusted to guard us because God cares about us. God can be trusted to guard our hearts and minds because God has the resources to do what needs to be done.

The peace of God is not euphoria that helps us minimize or ignore our problems. God’s peace does not participate in denial. This peace is not a form of Novocain or something to alter our mood. It is the gentle guard that protects us so that we can face reality. It is the security that comes from knowing that God pays attention, that we are not forgotten, that God is with us, that we are loved. In the busyness of the fall season may we slow down enough to experience God’s gift of peace.