What is Peace?
I’ve been reading about a short but significant word in our vocabulary lately - that word, is peace.
My mental imagery for peace used to include a hammock, a drink, and a cool breeze from the ocean - I tend to prefer an ocean breeze to a mountain view. Nowadays, I realize that peace also includes a grounded, smiling, and caring individual amongst extraordinary opposition.
Most of us have heard the famous quote that courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to act in the presence of fear.
As we are called to be courageous in difficult circumstances, we are also called to seek peace, and pursue it.
For a long time I struggled to remedy the image of peace I had in my mind - hammock and cool ocean breeze - with the seeking and pursuing command to peace. Not that I had trouble enjoying the blue waters and refreshing drink, but what was so hard with seeking that moment?
The more I read about and study the lives of leaders throughout history, I see that the command of peace they obeyed is to bring their hammock into the hurricane.
When it comes to the image of being peaceful in a hurricane, none seems more perfect than Jesus walking on water.
Here is an occasion when a human being literally was walking through a stormy time in His life. And yet, it was not He who was anxious or scared, it was the people who watched Him walk.
Another example I think of is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is a guy who could have lived fairly comfortably in the U.S. and avoided all the troubles in his homeland of Germany. Instead, he chose to go back and do battle with the ideologies of Hitler.
In either case, there was a deliberate action to enter into chaos and establish a peaceful presence. Without such an action, there would have been no peace and chaos would continue.
That is what the command of seeking peace looks like. Find those arduous projects, and bring your hammock with you.
Don't really know how to respond to this Lydon. Just know i took it in and needed it. Thank you brother for this one.
You are most welcome, brother.
If only our peace were, in practice, less dependent upon our circumstances.
The times I've experienced that have truly been "peace that passes all understanding," i.e. purely the grace of God.
😄😇😄
And His grace is always sufficient.
Nice to see that your article is so open for wide interpretation. I am taking the literal version of it. I used to live (until like a month ago) on a tropical island. Nice apartment in the ocean breeze, and damn it was the most calming place on earth. Until we had a hurricane last year and everything changed. Life wasnt to peaceful anymore, it started to be a struggle in a lot of things.
At this moment I am moving to Switzerland, the mountain breeze (I told you, your article is literally my life at the moment! hahahah). I am hoping also for something else this time in a way of peace. A politically calm situation, no armed robberies, no stress on if grocerycontainers will be delivered.
A new form of peace, but still combined with the breeze ;)
I’d say so, lol! Nice to hear you will have a more favorable political situation. May your mountain breeze be blessed. :)
Peace is all about the mind set you posses train your brain to face tough sutiations, as nothing is impossible.
Great blog post regarding the peace sir thanks a lot for sharing.
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People often remark about the fact that I seem so peaceful - I have my moments, but mostly, I'm standing up on the inside while sitting down on the outside. I struggle with injustice and have a long fuse, but God help anyone when that fuse is lit! Cultivating true inner peace is something I'm attempting lately, and failing, but it's something I want in my life.
There are two kinds of peace. Peace with God and the peace of God (in circumstances).
You discussed the second one very well. Just like courage and fear are connected, so too are peace and chaos. You can't have one without the other. And both, courage and peace are given to us through God's grace and mercy. Fear and chaos are allowed but He equips us through those times.
I loved that CS Lewis quote - haven't read that one before. It's made me stand up and pay attention.
Good post Lydon. :)
It is necessary to live in peace for peace and trust in society. If a society wants justice, there must be peace. There is no fighting in the place of peace, deaths are few and people live a happy life. Thank you for sharing @lydon.sipe
Peace is where can you be happy for example if you loves your bathroom a lot thats the peace.