Hardly a day passes when I do not receive some communication or other from a dear soul troubled in heart and mind by various trials in their own lives, or in that of friends and family. I pray for those who send me their requests, and I offer them that peace which Christ alone can bestow. It is not an empty gesture because I believe wholeheartedly that this divine peace is what each one of us needs in every circumstance. We look around ourselves sometimes, and grow envious of those whose lives seem to be without problems. There are those who seem to have it all. Good health, a good job, well-behaved children, a new car and expensive holidays taken several times a year. But such things are hardly a measure of success, or a guarantee of security. Those who place their trust in them might certainly have a temporary sense of peace. However it is the peace which might exist between two hostile nations who are not yet at war, rather than that peace which Christ offers and cannot be taken away. If our peace is dependent on having a smart car, then a scratch or chip will take away our enjoyment and disturb our peace. We might lose our job, or find ourselves not as popular as we were. If our peace is dependent on these then we will find it draining away. If we consider that our health is the basis of a sense of peace then the chronic illnesses which often afflict us, especially as we grow old, will drive it away and we will be filled with heartache. Indeed everything which has a material basis, if we make it the source of our peace, will lead to pain and distress. All things decay in frost, and rust, and worm. We cannot find a lasting peace if we seek it ourselves in the acquisition of possessions, position and popularity. Yet those who have faith are promised a lasting peace. A peace which cannot be taken away because it does not have a mortal and corruptible source. St Paul speaks in his second letter to the Thessalonians of the Lord of peace. While in his letter to the Romans he writes of the God of hope who fills us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere in his letter to the Philippians he says that we should be filled with care for nothing, and then by prayer for all things we will receive that experience of the peace that passes understanding. What is the means by which we enter this peace? St Paul teaches us that to have our mind and heart set on the things of this world is death, but to have our mind and heart filled with spiritual things is both life and peace. He teaches us that it is in placing our faith and trust in God that we find this peace and that it is a mark of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And our Lord himself says that the peace which he gives is not the same as the passing and temporary absence of trials which the world experiences, and that it is his own gift to us. Those who have experience of this peace which the world cannot understand and which the world cannot give know that they are not removed from all difficult circumstances in this life. They must still battle with illness, employment struggles, family crises and every other trial. But the peace which they know is an interior confidence in God which is able to be sustained through every difficulty. It is a peace which is not disturbed by the confusion of this life. It remains constant even through pain, tears and every temptation to fear. This peace is inseparable from life in Christ and with Christ. Those who demand a heavenly peace yet make no effort to live the spiritual life will be disappointed. It is as if we demand physical fitness without being willing to exercise. Nevertheless this peace is given to all who seek Christ and offer earnest and believing prayer for every circumstance. To bring Christ into the situations of our lives is to discover that peace which only he can give. We may not demand this peace. We will not find it if we try to bargain with God, a little prayer in return for peace and blessing. But if we abandon all desires but that for God then we will receive more than we deserve and can imagine, peace and life and hope and joy. As the angel stood with the three youths in the midst of the fiery furnace, and as Daniel was preserved in the midst of the lion’s den, so we will not always find our problems disappear. But if Christ is with us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, then we may experience a peace which cannot be taken away whatever the situation we face. If we ask him, with earnest prayer and with a desire for spiritual things rather than material, then he promises to grant what we need.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:31:52 +0000
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