Peace

Not a day goes by that I don’t pray for peace.  Peace for our world,  peace for our country, peace in my soul.  I don’t know anyone that doesn’t want peace.  What people disagree on is how we get it.  I really and truly believe that giving God responsibility for our life is the key to finding that inward peace we all want.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 127:2: “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for He grants sleep to those He loves.”

“Responsibility” is a loaded word.  People who take their responsibilities seriously are good people to have around.  It is the type of person I strive to be.  But putting our responsibilities on our own shoulders alone causes worry – sometimes worry to the point of losing sleep.   I admire conscientious people; they work hard.  They get up early to get an early start; they stay up late to be sure their work is done right.  They go the extra mile.  But they also frequently find themselves tired and frazzled.

There’s nothing wrong with getting up early and going to bed late — that comes with having high expectations for yourself — but there is something wrong about depending so much on yourself alone that you end up living in a constant state of tension.  You don’t have to lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering how you’re going to make it through another day…if you’re going to make it through another day.  A wonderful by-product of giving God responsibility is peace of mind.   If we give God responsibility for our life , then our problems become His problems, not ours alone.

When we give God responsibility for our life, He takes it.   He handles it.  Does this mean things always work out the way we want them to?  No.  Better than that!  It means things always work out the way that God, in His sovereign and sometimes severe mercy, knows is ultimately the best way.

When we give God responsibility for our life, you can face every day with the assurance that He will cause all of the events of our life to work together for good.

I love God’s promise in Romans 8:28…

“We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”

True peace comes by trusting in God more than in the circumstances of life.  I don’t always do that, in fact I don’t do it even most of the time, but I want to do it all the time!