By Sandy Morgenthal
Our oldest, deepest, most constant need is peace. This deep need can cause many to be looking in all the wrong places for some small measure of peace. I know I can get so caught up in being busy that I lose all perspective. I feel like the proverbial chicken, running around pecking at the ground when I should be looking up. When I’m doing this, I’ve lost all sense of peace and connectedness to God.
The lack of peace King David experienced as he ran from his enemies and hid in caves when he could is hopefully something few of us will ever experience. He was being pursued by people who wanted to take his life.
Our everyday lack of peace is more mundane and insidious. We have it; then we lose track of it. If we get too caught up in the pressures and demands of daily life, it is easy to not even know when or where we lost it; our precious peace. We need to look for it, and we need to know where to look for it.
The old Japanese proverb says, “You will never see the sunrise by looking into the west.”
Knowing where to look for peace is wisdom gained through time spent with the Lord, studying Scripture, praying, reading devotionals, and engaging with other believers who want to do the same. He can speak peace and wisdom to me then, in the quiet space I have made for Him and me, and in time devoted to the same with others.
If our heart is God’s garden, we don’t want to ignore it and allow weeds to take over. Being ever alert to guard against the things that so easily steal peace, we stand watch against all things that have the power to choke out what God has planted. It is better to choke out the bad by constant care, watering, and weeding to protect what Jesus planted when he died on the cross.
Deuteronomy 29:18 NIV: says, “Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.”
We are all hungry for God’s peace and God’s love. He will never withhold them from us, if we will just stop and accept the wonderfully fulfilling gifts He has to offer. True peace comes when I look up to the source of it all. Coming to know that source is such a gift; ours for the asking.
Psalm 121:1,2 NIV: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
