Henry David Thoreau famously wrote that “most men live lives of quiet desperation.” While Thoreau may have accurately described his time, it seems to be that most people nowadays are leading lives of frenetic uneasiness. While they may be “quiet” about their discontent (although with the prevalence of social media even this seems rare these days), rare is the person who is not anxiously maintaining their schedule and trying to keep their hurried pace.
There is certainly much to commend the child of God who fills their lives with service to and worship of Him. But a full life is not the same as a busy one. A busy life is evident by the rapid movement between one thing to another, much like the active bee pollinating the flowers. In a busy life there is rarely focused attention or concentrated effort. In a busy life, there is rarely peace.
Yet, God has promised peace to His kids, and He has said that their lives will bear evidence of it (Gal. 5:22). The peace that God has pledged is not only perfect (Isaiah 26:3) – completely sufficient for our lives – but it is an active peace. Philippians 4:7 explicitly says, ” And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” God’s peace is a working peace – it protects the very essence of who we are – our emotions and thoughts. It guards the very core of our being so that what is going on around us does not cause our identity to waver- we are the children of God who are at peace. This may seem unfathomable to us, and God did say it surpasses understanding, but His peace is protective in nature; it keeps us from being caught up in the storms of the world because we find our solace solely in Him.
If we are always hurried and anxious, it is unlikely that our lives are pointing others to the Prince of Peace. If we aren’t intent on allowing God’s peace to protect our thoughts and our feelings, we are likely to be carried along by the cares and worries of the world instead of being a light to it. God’s peace is for all His kids, and when all His kids rest in it, we demonstrate our complete reliance on Him.
If our lives are characterized by worry instead of peace, if they can be described as frenzied rather than full of solace, may we ask Him to help us to actively rest on what He has already promised for His kids – His full and perfect protective peace.
