I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ 

Peace. It’s what we long for, isn’t it? The world is in turmoil. Our nation seems in chaos. Things are happening that we never thought could or would. We have differing opinions than our friends about things and that rocks us because society says it is unacceptable to believe differently. Social media is filled with arguing and oftentimes untruths. There are work situations that leave us feeling frustrated.  We see our families hurting and struggling. Our kids don’t know how to act or what to do. We hurt, we struggle, change happens, and we find ourselves feeling out of sorts. We don’t know what to believe or how to act in light of what is happening. Life just does not seem very peaceful. I don’t know about you, but as of late, I feel like my peace is on shaky ground. 

As I thought about our longing for peace, I was reminded of an accommodation some of my students are provided. It is to have an opportunity and place for “cool down” when they get agitated, feel angry, or become out of sorts. This accommodation affords them a chance to get refocused and be able to move past the agitation, frustration, anger, feelings of unrest, etc. They have various things and places to bring them back to a place of calm. When they listen to the teacher helping them and utilize what is available to them, they are able to refocus, go back to a calm state, and be successful. The underlying cause may not have been removed, but the focus has shifted allowing peace to return.

God gives us that accommodation in life. However, it’s not a one and done experience. It is ongoing. He clearly tells us that there will be turmoil in life. However, in the midst of that turmoil, we can have peace. It comes through Jesus. We have to have our minds focused on Him. We have to trust Him. He is the stability in the midst of the chaos. Just like my students, we have to have our focus changed. We have to go to the Word and to God in order to “cool down”. When our mind is stayed on Him, we will have peace because our Redeemer is the Overcomer. The underlying causes for our feelings of unrest may not be removed, but the Rock we focus on will allow us to have peace and stability in the midst of it all.