{"id":3268,"date":"2024-06-26T03:13:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T03:13:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?p=3268"},"modified":"2024-06-30T21:06:59","modified_gmt":"2024-06-30T21:06:59","slug":"a-new-outlook-on-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?p=3268","title":{"rendered":"Peace: Unimaginable, Unstoppable, Undeniable"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">by Lisa Thacker<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/3.bp.blogspot.com\/-nSbYqBmX7Oc\/UTUU8SKXVKI\/AAAAAAAATA0\/QGxC9UYD0TM\/s1600\/Peace+Of+God.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What do you think of when you hear the word <em>peace<\/em>?&nbsp; The absence of war? People getting along, helping one another, and living in harmony?&nbsp; A beautiful beach full of sun and sand with gentle waves lapping the shore? A quiet evening at home all by yourself?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What if someone told you peace more likely occurs in the midst of a violent storm? Or how about during a season of painful loss and deep sorrow?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Could this be possible?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My brain used to reject considering how the words peace and death could ever co-exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How would there ever come a day when I would be <em>at peace<\/em> with my 15-year-old son\u2019s violent, unexpected death?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The enemy has a way of shaming us by convincing us we have weak faith when we actually just hold misconceptions of who God is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps some of these same illusions plague you, as well.\u00a0 Thankfully, our Heavenly Father gently guides us to \u201cdis\u201d any illusions we grip and gain solid reality of His true character instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God doesn\u2019t require us to be <em>at peace<\/em> with the horrible events we live through.&nbsp; He grants us <strong><em>His<\/em><\/strong> peace so we can cling to Him <em>despite<\/em> life\u2019s rugged terrain.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t land on us with the wave of a magic wand.&nbsp; It seeps in quietly and slowly over time as all of God\u2019s attributes converge to steady us.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t wait until the hurt, heartache, and hopelessness have disappeared. It stabilizes us <strong><em>IN SPITE <\/em><\/strong>of<strong><em> <\/em><\/strong>the pain, doubt, and confusion so we can\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Press on<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amidst<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Catastrophic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tse3.mm.bing.net\/th?id=OIP.h4BlgQDymD0y8E32tf2czgHaFT&amp;pid=Api&amp;P=0&amp;h=220\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t <strong><em>cure <\/em><\/strong>our grief and trauma.&nbsp; It mingles <strong><em>amongst<\/em><\/strong> them, working to stabilize every corner of our soul, one nook and cranny at a time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Peace and pain can and do coexist.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Acceptance of the uninvited landscape in our life isn\u2019t a prerequisite for peace.&nbsp; Rather, it guides us to humbly surrender to (submit to) <em>God\u2019s good and loving intentions<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t expect us to grit our teeth while declaring life on earth is better than we could have ever imagined.&nbsp; On the contrary, it reminds us that \u201cThe best is yet to come!\u201d (in the words of my dear friend Joy Young).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t prevent us from feeling weary.&nbsp; It strengthens us when we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t render us exempt from the temptation to give up.&nbsp; It sustains us so we don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t fade until we gain control of our life.&nbsp; It thrives when God is in control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t erase the dreadful realities that bring chaos to our lives.&nbsp; It organizes the chaotic events so we can function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t always lead us beside still waters.&nbsp; It offers God\u2019s never-ending presence when the skies grow dark and the waters turn choppy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t keep suffering from causing the ground to shake.&nbsp; It steadies us so we can keep walking during the earthquake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t eliminate the longing we hold to see our loved one (or resolve our devastating struggle). It comforts the ache that shreds our heart when the missingness (despair) crushes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tse1.mm.bing.net\/th?id=OIP.va8JaT_sRxs0uIXUNx3iRQHaE7&amp;pid=Api&amp;P=0&amp;h=220\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t prevent us from shattering into pieces.&nbsp; It pieces us back together when we fall apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t stop tragedies and trials from knocking us down.&nbsp; It picks us back up and secures our feet after being leveled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t shame us for searching for answers to why the destructive event happened.&nbsp; It gives us permission to ask honest questions while trusting the answers are best left in God\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t make sense of the overwhelming events.&nbsp; It makes trusting God the only thing that does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t ask us to be <strong><em>content with life\u2019s challenging circumstances<\/em><\/strong>.&nbsp; It enables us to be <strong><em>content in<\/em><\/strong> <strong><em>the God<\/em><\/strong> who is always at our side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peace doesn\u2019t <em>transcend all understandin<\/em>g because everything got resolved and tied up with a bow.&nbsp; It <em>surpasses all understanding<\/em> because nothing else explains our ability to continue getting up every day after our worst nightmare turned into our reality. God\u2019s steadying hand (peace) is the only possible explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our peace isn\u2019t in the events of this world.&nbsp; Our peace is in the assured Hope of the next.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">John 16:33 says it precisely.&nbsp; \u201cI have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At times, peace emerges discreetly without our solicitation.&nbsp; Other times, we have to plead for a heaping dose of it.&nbsp; No matter who does the initiating, peace ultimately makes the unsurvivable survivable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turns out, peace really is more profound during violent storms, painful losses, and deep sorrows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thankfully, we don\u2019t have to rely on a quiet evening of relaxation by the fire or a day filled with sun and sand to carry us through turbulent waters.&nbsp; Because NEITHER of those are qualified for the job like the everlasting peace that touches our aching soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tse3.mm.bing.net\/th?id=OIP.kqlJrF93Sb2e6w7bG3gFmgHaDR&amp;pid=Api&amp;P=0&amp;h=220\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Lisa Thacker What do you think of when you hear the word peace?&nbsp; The absence of war? People getting along, helping one another, and living in harmony?&nbsp; A beautiful beach full of sun and sand with gentle waves lapping the shore? A quiet evening at home all by yourself?&nbsp;&nbsp; What if someone told you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grief-and-faith"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Peace-blog.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Peace-blog.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"survivingmypas","author_link":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}