Peace in Troubled Times

We walked, loosely grouped, through the wide corridor of the hospital. White, white, white surrounded me. I pushed to keep up, walking in back as we headed toward the exit. We pretended we were okay. I passed a pillar to my left as my head swam from the rising mixture of fear and grief.

There were already so many challenges…. As a mom, I was utterly heartbroken. Why this, too?

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair [.]” (2 Corinthians 4:8 KJV)

There are moments when trouble comes in strong and threatens to drown our peace.

When my daughter was in elementary school, one morning my sister found me in the school parking lot during morning drop off to deliver in person a message the Lord laid on the heart of one or her friends for me. We stood in the gravel by my Forester, and she held my hands in hers and shared the message. It was Psalm 107:27-28 KJV: “They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.”

How deeply relevant and encouraging these verses have been through the years.

I reeled that day we got the shocking news at the hospital…and a lot of other days. Problems, pressure from every side. But, when the enemy came in as a flood, the Lord raised a standard against him (Isaiah 59:19b).

Although we may not know how to deal with or fix the troubles we encounter, we serve the one true God Who delivers the righteous out of all our afflictions. Psalm 34:19 KJV states it clearly: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

The longer we serve God, the more we see His faithfulness and that scripture proven true. I came to Christ as a child, and that early encounter has mercifully allowed me the benefit of having a relationship with Jesus through most of my life. Oh, yes, He’s been far more faithful than I have. Despite my failures, I have been loved. Helped. Hidden. Uplifted. Forgiven. Favored. Corrected. Comforted. I still am.

One of the harder things for me to hold onto in troubled times has been peace. John 14:27 KJV says, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” Since God has given us His peace, how do we experience it?

An important key is that Truth must lodge so deeply within us that it’s deeper than the problem.

Recently, I came into heavy fog while traveling downhill on Highway 460 in mountainous West Virginia. Visibility was terrible. I drove deeper into the valley, and suddenly I was underneath the fog and could see fine. The fog didn’t reach the bottom. There was more underneath that the fog did not hide.

When we meet with trouble, focusing on a few spiritually anchoring points can help us find and nurture peace. While this is not a conclusive list, these are some of my top anchor points that I hope will help you, too. They are a blend of active maintenance and soul reminders. I confess I’m glad you can’t see the mess I’ve been inside while writing through these. My soul has been in the repair shop and memory vault digesting all of this before sharing it with you.

The first is basic soul maintenance.

1.      Have a clear conscience before God.

Peace 101 is repentance and surrender to the Lord. Knowing our sins are under the blood of Jesus and not having unaddressed conviction brings peace through a clear conscience.

For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight (1 John 3:20-22 KJV).

If I, in my fleshly mind, know I’ve done wrong, then how much clearer is that wrong through the lens of God’s holiness? I want to please the Lord. I want to bring Him my junk and be forgiven and healed. I need peace in my relationship with God.

I’m reminded of a fire safety rule to not block the exits. When we’re running to the Father, to our shelter, from fiery trials, we need clear pathways of egress with nothing hindering our safe escape. Amen.

The next three are spiritually anchoring reminders.

2.      God is with us.

It’s not Christmas yet, but one of my favorite scriptures is Matthew 1:23 KJV that says, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

I love the idea of God being with me. I am never alone because He is with me. My troubles are not mine only because He is with me. He knows the whole story because He is with me.

Isaiah 43:1-3 illuminates this concept further.

But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:1-2 KJV).

In these verses, the Lord tells Israel they will pass through the waters and the rivers; they will walk through fire. However, His enduring promise is He will be with them. Emmanuel: God with us. This is a promise we must hold to. We will face troubles but not alone.

3.      God loves us.

This is a big one for me. I know of nothing more steadying than to know God loves me: truly, not less than or more than others, without reservation, gladly, in covenant, intentionally, and always with my best at heart.

God proved His endless love for humanity by giving His only begotten Son, Jesus, as a perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins. In His great mercy, He continues to demonstrate His love toward us. Sometimes He sends the sweetest reminders.

I was working at my desk one day when the Holy Spirit kept nudging me saying, “I love you.” Three times I heard it in my spirit, not urgent but intentional like someone who would step in front of me and carefully look into my eyes to make sure I was listening and assure me past any of my objections or disbelief.

What could make experiencing God’s love better?

Loving Him back.

I once stood crying in my living room, alone, distraught over a situation I had no idea how to help. I reeled like the people in Psalm 107, at my wit’s end. I couldn’t patch prayers around what was happening. My mind grasped for words to battle with or to point to an answer and found nothing. I don’t know if I was blinded by fear or the hopelessness of the situation in that moment. Suddenly, I cried out softly and brokenly to the Lord, “I love You.”

In a moment, supernatural peace flooded over me in a wave. It was as if God stepped in and said, “Peace, be still.” He raised a standard against the enemy that was flooding my soul. It was just like His Word says in Isaiah that I mentioned before: “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19b KJV)

I don’t know that the situation itself changed right then. It might have. Its effect on me changed dramatically. And, the destruction that loomed close and dark never came, hallelujah. I know God moved.

Psalm 91:14 KJV says, “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” In that broken moment in the living room, I didn’t know that loving God was a solution. I didn’t have anything else. Those words just spilled out. It was much later that I put the experience together with Psalm 91:14, realizing He moved for me in accordance with His Word.

4.      God hears us and answers our prayers.

The very next verse, Psalm 91:15 KJV, says, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.” This verse goes well with anchor point two as well.

For that sweep of peace to happen immediately after crying I love You to God, He obviously was listening and answered as well.

David rejoices in Psalm 28:6-7 KJV saying, “Blessed be the LORD, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

God’s peace is real, and He’s given it to us. Remembering these four anchor points can help us experience it: have a clear conscience before God, and dwell on the facts that God is with us, loves us, and hears and answers our prayers.

We could add lots more anchor points to this list. For starters, my next point would be that God is trustworthy. The next could be a reminder to praise God through the storm. (Worship is powerful in magnifying God and stirring our faith.)

What would you add? What have you learned from your walk with God and from His Word that bring you peace when you think about it? Identify those truths and hang onto them.

Be it the four shared here or others, focusing on God through a few powerful anchor points can help us experience peace in troubled times.