It is wonderful to see how perfect God’s timing is, because a few weeks before I began writing this post, I was given opportunities to learn what peace is in my life and how important it is. Before then, I hadn’t given peace too much thought, but recent events have led me to seek it when I get overwhelmed and stressed out by my circumstances. Now I’m excited to write this post, because I understand how much of a game changer it can be when you have peace given to you by God. By this, I don’t mean being calm. Calm is an emotion, a feeling you get sometimes, while peace is a gift, a Godly reaction that puts your spirit at ease. Calmness can fade when you get too much on your plate, and when you feel stressed out, but peace is present even on the days when you feel like you can’t get a break. Peace is something that has helped me look past my mistakes and rough spots in order to focus on God and keep my eyes focused on Him.
How do you find peace?
If you want true peace that is present no matter your circumstances, you have to trust fully in God and His plan for you. Now, I know this is easier said than done. I spend a lot of my time trying to trust in promises other people have made, my own abilities, or what I feel should happen. This might be the simplest thing to do, but we all know that at the end of the day, your misplaced trust ends up with someone getting hurt, whether it is you or someone else. I often try to put too much trust in myself, thinking that I can fix anything and everything, and when I figure out that there are some things in the world that I have absolutely no control over, I crumble. However, when I trust in God’s plan for me, and understand that everything that happens has been designed by God to help me become closer to Him, I can have peace in anything that happens to me.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust the LORD forever, for the LORD God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4). I love this verse so much, because it highlights why trusting in the Lord will never let you down. God is eternal, and He will never change or leave you. If you trust God with your circumstances, you will never be let down. Even if your life feels like it is spiraling out of your control, God is greater than anything you will ever go through. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Handing over your heart to an all-powerful, all-loving God will give you so much peace because you understand that He will protect you and take care of you.
This is something that I have had to learn lately, and I am still learning how to put my trust in God during difficult circumstances. This year, I joined the tennis team: something totally new to me. I love it so much, and the girls on my team are so much fun to be around, but starting something new can always bring a little bit of anxiety. Every match, I get a little nervous, because I don’t know what is going to happen: it’s the classic fear of the unknown. My tennis skill is far from perfect, but I soon learned that the most important part of a match is your mental strength. No matter how you play, if you get in your head, you can ruin your entire performance.
After a while, I realized that one way I can keep myself focused during a match is through prayer. No matter how I am doing in the match, prayer has been something that refocuses me on what is really important, and it brings me so much peace! Before a match starts, I take a minute and pray to God. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to play, because I am so blessed to be where I am at, and then I pray that I would glorify Him in everything I do. Whether it is my skill, my thoughts towards myself/others, or what I say, I want my teammates and my opponents to see that I truly love God. If I have time, I’ll pray before every point or game, and it helps so much, especially when I’m struggling and have been making lots of mistakes.
Even on those hard days, I can still find peace in the heat of the match, because God kept me focused on what was really important. Do I want to win all of my matches? Yes, obviously! But, I have learned that there are more important things than just that. If I were to lose 0-6, but I played my best, hustled to every ball, and had a good heart attitude about myself and the people around me, I would be so incredibly happy with how I did!
This is why trusting in God is so important: when you give your worries and your struggles to the Father, you can learn what is most important in your life, and reassess your values and priorities. I never understood the importance of mental growth over talent until I got in the habit of praying over my matches. And this isn’t something that is only applicable to tennis, or even just to sports. Continual prayer is the biggest way to find peace, regardless of your circumstances. If you are a student, praying over a big test or a heavy workload can help you to keep your mind from spiraling and getting nervous. Praying to God during a job interview or an evaluation can help you perform your best while understanding that He is taking care of you. When you are in communication with the Lord, telling him your struggles and your doubts, and when you allow him to have control over these things, your burden will be lifted. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30). Let God take your burden while you take his: this is where peace can be found.
The coexistence of peace and joy
I don’t know about you guys, but for me, this is such a strange concept. Joy and peace aren’t opposites, but it seems like they can’t be present at the same time in my life. If I am at peace, my soul is quieted, but if I am filled with joy then I am also filled with energy and life. If we are always supposed to be displaying both of these fruits of the Spirit, then how can we be at peace and joyful at the same time?
The best way that I can describe it is through Scripture. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). In these two verses, we can see that peace and joy can be found at the same time. When you are in prayer, you can find peace in knowing that God is watching over you and protecting you from the snares of the devil. Being in prayer constantly means that your life can be filled with peace. In addition, this passage tells us to “rejoice always”. This means that we can be joyful and peaceful at the same time. How cool is that?
This is such a wild concept for me to understand, because the difference between the two makes it feel like they cannot coexist, but I believe that God is what makes it possible. To be filled with joy and energy, while feeling relaxed and at peace, is such a freeing feeling, because it means that you have placed your trust in God. He has taken your worries away and you are firm in believing that He is going to provide for you day in and day out.
Eliminating anxiety
The more that I’ve learned about peace, the more that I’ve discovered how it eliminates anxiety. I know it seems pretty obvious, but when all your worries about what is going on disappear, it is really something to be grateful for. Personally, I’m in a season of life where I feel so busy, like I’ve never done enough because there’s always something else to do. I know that almost all students can relate to this, especially with the other things on your plate. With academics, sports, personal lives, and other commitments, we are pulled in so many different ways. This causes lots of stress and anxiety, because there is so much expected of us.
The thing about anxiety is that it is proof of a lack of trust in God. When you are anxious, it’s like you are telling God that you don’t think He can handle your problems or your circumstances. I know I am not the most qualified person to talk to you about this, but I have experienced plenty of this in my own life. If He created the heavens and the earth, with such a delicate intricacy and in a way that is so effective, He can provide for your everyday needs. This is something that I know I need to be working on.
How does peace play into this? Well, it is impossible to have peace and be worried at the same time, because one shows full trust in God, while the other lacks it. If this is something you struggle with, maybe it is time to give God the reins and trust in His divine abilities. Allow peace to wash over you as your burden is lifted by the One who made the stars and the galaxies. Ask others to help you carry your burden, and ask God to give you people that will help you pursue peace.
This verse I’m about to share with you is very well-known, and I bet almost all of you have heard it multiple times, but that is because it shares some wonderful truth about trusting God. I hope that in these next few weeks, you can meditate on this Scripture and learn what it means to be trusting the Lord. I know I will, because lately I have learned that if I don’t place my trust in God, I will crumble.
“And he said to his disciples, ‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father;s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:22-32)
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