Perfect
Peace
by Tisha Tyler
All
in all, taking everything into account and having carefully surveyed
my options I have come to this conclusion—I am happy. As
I look back over my life I see a lot of disappointments and I
see the times that I have disappointed others. I remember the
times that I’ve suffered hurt and when I was the one causing
the pain.
As
a single mother, I have to plow right through many of life’s
ups and downs. It’s a tough haul, and an arduous journey.
My strength and sanity are dependent upon my knowing that somewhere
in the midst of all of the chaos God has built for me a place
of refuge. Weathermen (women) speak of the “eye of the storm”,
but God speaks of Perfect Peace. Finding it is like discovering
an ancient hidden treasure.
Most
of our lives are lost to hustle and bustle, confusion and exhaustion.
Can there be such a thing as this notion of Perfect Peace. The
Lord tells us in the Bible to, Ask, and we will receive;
seek, and we will find; knock, and the door will
be opened. Even the door leading to perfect peace. We
are living in a time that requires us to focus on a reality greater
than our current troubles; to keep our minds steady on God, who
never loses control over the day-to-day events in our lives.
Peace-Peace
By
Jessie Dale-Wade
I
am alone in my distress
Let
God’s peace save me.
I
am in need of healing
God’s
peace will save me.
Strife
is all around the
Work
place and home.
God’s
peace come and save me.
Come-Come.
What
is Perfect Peace?
I’ve
been in search of perfect peace all of my life. It is a tiresome
journey. As a child I remember thinking that I was somehow incomplete.
However, I could never quite place my finger on the reason why.
As I have matured in my number of years and the depth of my spirituality,
I now realize that what was missing, the reason that I often
felt incomplete was that I lacked perfect peace.
For everyone it means something different.
I don’t know of anyone who can say, “Here, this is
the formula for perfect peace. Follow these steps, in this order,
and you will receive it”.
We attend a spirit-filled church that provides my children and
me top-notch, biblical training. Nevertheless, there was a time
in my life when, if I was presented with a difficult situation,
I looked not to heaven, but to whomever happened to be at home
when I called and was willing to listen. But as soon as I learned
to let go, and let God become the “calm” of my storms
I received a wonderful gift—everlasting, uncompromising
perfect peace.
My daughter, Nishon, may have been the
only child in her Sunday school class not invited to a particular
birthday party. The really bad part about it was that the mother
of the kid was in the classroom handing out invitations and chatting
about the party. “Here’s an invitation, everyone is
invited!”
I noticed what was happening as soon
as I entered into the class and hoped that Nishon hadn’t
heard anything, but I didn’t get so lucky. As soon as we
got into our car to leave she said,
“Mommy, I think Anna*
is having a birthday
party this weekend. Can we go?”
I had no other choice except to say,
‘No, sweetheart. We aren’t invited.’
Life presents us with unexpected twists
and turns. Who knew that Nishon would have to face such an act
of exclusion? How do you maintain your sense of peace when your
child is being hurt? I remind myself and my kids who we are and
whose we are. When disappointments come our way, as they surely
will, it’s easier to “get over it” by God’s
glorious grace. The people we associate with or the places that
we go should not determine the quality of our lives.
Singing
Songs of Praise
In
the Book of Isaiah I found the following song of praise to the
Lord:
Isaiah
26:1-4 (NIV)
1
In that day this song will be
sung
in the land of Judah:
We
have a strong city;
God
makes salvation
Its walls and ramparts.
2
Open the gates that the
righteous nation may enter,
The nation that keeps faith.
3 You
will keep in perfect
peace him whose mind is steadfast,
Because he trusts in you.
4
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord, the Lord Is the
Rock eternal.
Verse 2 reminds us
that we must have faith, and that our faith will keep us in perfect
peace. In other words, we are required to have faith in God to
place within each of us our own portion of perfect peace.
I know that God is
bigger than any of my problems! He heals all wounds, those caused
by abuse, those caused by addiction, those caused by divorce
and even those caused by exclusion. I know what He gives me;
no one can take away…that is how I maintain perfect peace
with every breath that I breathe.
It really began to
click for me when I realized that my life was (to borrow from
my pastor):
Conceived by my thoughts;
Composed with my
choices;
Confirmed by my words
and;
Constructed daily
by my actions.
I have said it before
single parenting is not for the faint hearted. For me, I like
to dine daily on God’s spiritual food. It strengthens my
soul!
* Name changed to protect identity.
Tisha Tyler is a freelance
writer who lives with her two children in San Diego.
March 15, 2001