Your Built-In Peace-Meter
If you’re anything like me, you find that most of the time life goes along mostly to your liking. For the most part, things run fairly smoothly. You’ve got a good personal and family schedule and routine in place. You’ve got a decent budget in place that makes room for all the necessities of life, as well as a few treats now and then. And you are reasonably prepared for the usual minor turbulences of life, like having to free up 25 minutes in your schedule to meet with Joey’s teacher because he got in trouble at school today.
However, every once in a while we encounter an unexpected life problem or life decision that we can’t solve quickly. In fact, it wears you down thinking about it; it causes you anxiety and stress. And during this time of trying to find an answer, a solution, you’re not very fun to live with. Your kids are asking, “What’s wrong with Daddy?” Your wife is asking you, “What’s wrong? Tell me, I want to help.”
I’m talking about things like major financial stresses. You’re offered an investment opportunity that excites you, but you’re quite nervous about it. Your spouse or child needs major dental work which your plan doesn’t cover, and you must decide which financial sacrifices to make in order to pay for it.
Or perhaps, you’re offered a new role at work. It’s a role you’ve worked hard to aspire to. It offers a great pay raise, good benefits, and several other perks. But the job requires you to be away much of the time. Your kids are still young, and your spouse and you together have agreed that you both must be at home and available to the kids while in their young years of needing their parents. You’d love to accept the job, and your spouse doesn’t want you to. The more you talk about it together, the more heated the discussion gets. You talk to your good friends, your pastor. You spend extra time with the Lord, hoping desperately He will clearly give you an answer, alleviating the confusion. You hear nothing. The stress and anxiety increase even more.
So, what do you do when faced with this kind of conflict and confusion in your life? I want to draw your attention to a few very clear Scriptures that will answer this question for you. “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.” 1 Corinthians 14:33a (KJV) This is an extremely helpful verse because,
Whenever you are faced with a situation, a decision, or a problem that is causing you inner turmoil and confusion, you can know it is NOT from God.
And if that isn’t great enough, God also in the same verse tells us what He IS the Author of peace. This message is reinforced many times in Scripture:
“For He Himself is our peace.” Ephesians 2:14a (NASB)
“The God of peace be with you all. Amen” Romans 15:33 (NIV)
“The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:6 (NIV)
I myself have relied upon these Scriptures many times in my life to help determine what to do, or what course of action to take. I was recently invited to pursue a course of ministry that excited me. In my heart, I wanted it. I had friends who offered and wanted to help me. Yet when I considered it long-term and practically, I knew it would quickly wear me down. I knew I couldn’t sustain what it would have demanded of me. I fought the thought of having to decline, but I knew I had to. What really helped me in deciding was that, despite the excitement and many other positive aspects it offered, I had no peace about it. In my mind, I was trying to come up with ways to make it work without being affected by the extra time, the extra work, the extra pressure. There was no peace, just confusion. It’s a couple months behind me now, and I’m so glad I decided not to do it.
See, I believe,
As Saints of the Living God, Whose very Life flows through us, we have a resource that others don’t have.
We have a “peace-meter”. Now don’t look for this word in the Bible; you won’t find it. But it’s a very helpful tool that is in the Life of Jesus, that you can depend on when faced with these kinds of decision-making situations.
Here’s how it works: You ponder and weigh out all the pros and cons of the issue. Yes, discuss it with your spouse, pastor, trusted good friends. And yes, bring it to the Lord, trusting Him for wisdom, which He promises you. After all is said and done, ask yourself sincerely and honestly, “Which decision do I feel most at peace with?” If your “peace-meter” is bottoming out at a 1 or 0, DO NOT decide in favour of it. If your “peace-meter” is up at an 8, 9 or 10, then go with that decision. It’s as simple as that.
John 14:27a (NIV) says “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.” You have His peace. Whenever anything disrupts that peace, run from it. It is not from your Heavenly Father. He is the God of Peace, not of confusion.
Right now you may be thinking, “C’mon Paul, it can’t be that simple, can it?” — YUP!