It was already dark, and stars filled the monotonous sky, that I stood by the beach while the soft wind teased my face. Few white shells glistened in the shallows. I picked one peculiarly protruding out of the waters and threw it out again, further out. Still not yet tired, I took a brief walk by the shore line while observing undulating crests crashed silently in the shadows. Unaware of the time, I continued my leisured stroll as one after the other the lights coming from the outlying cottages dimmed.
Moving further as my toes reveled on the soft sand and the gentle wetness of the receding waves, the coolness of the night blended well with silence. I stood there alone under the light of a very bright moon refreshed at these pleasures; and the quietness of the surroundings drilled a different enchantment on my ear.
Somehow nature has the ability to produce serenity; and it is in silence, that borrowed stillness, reminding us that the peace the fills us come from the God of peace. He placed nature a hint of His eternal character, a very evident and undeniable message too clear to miss.
We stand enthralled by the marvels of nature; captivated by the beauty it conveys and in hushed breath we are touched by the stillness. For our daily tension, it brought relief. Our hardened faces, and stressed out muscles relaxed and our taut nerves calmed. Silence has, in the human heart, a curative effect.
Inevitably, nature and its silences provoke a response on our part. Its immensity overwhelms. Our inner most beings swamped with spiritual curiosities. And questions are drawn more than answers. Who we are in the whole scheme of life? Are we that important? Or a drop in the ocean of people? A striving wick blown here and there by the wind of circumstance?
It humbles us to realize that we are not the center of the world. God is. With this awareness, we are reduced to our real size. That in reality, we are unimportant, feeble and vulnerable. This discovery popped our pride and invincibility. We are not what we mislead ourselves to believe. This released us from the pressure of needing to perform and accept who we really are. Limited. Flawed. Dust. But determined.
For we can never carry around nature or hold it in our tiny hands to benefit from its favors of tranquility when a need arise. We can capture it in photographs as a keepsake for some unforgettable experience. Yet these are outward trappings to stillness. And possessing it does not actually guarantee peace of mind. It is essential we carry the stillness within. This kind does not depend on nature’s benevolences but on God’s gift of peace.
As Jesus’ disciples sorrowed in His impending death, He comforted them, saying, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). We, also, have this peace when received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are justified by faith (Rom.5:1). We have peace with God. No longer there was enmity between us and God. Not only do we have peace with God, we relish the peace of God in our everyday lives as part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22,23).
In the commotion life, we often hear ourselves complain. In like manner our busyness fills our minds with cares and preoccupations that it deafens us from what God is saying; His voice appearing inaudible most of the time. And the peace we have seemed lost and distant. Somehow the rat race makes rat in some of us, engrossed with the morsels. Yet, what we need is to settle ourselves down, and collect our bearings. In quietness we look to Him, and immerse into Him, then we can hear God speak to us, not just His inexplicable presence surrounding us. His Spirit will be present, comforting us. His Word will strengthen us.
When we are forced in the wall or when the hard place and the rock looked formidably the same, we are confident that our God is not against us, but on the contrary, a circumscribing wall around us, Who goes before us, and in us.
Our peace is not founded on some dogmas or empty philosophies that would only make us feel better. It came from the steadfast, reassuring Word of God. Storms hit unexpectedly, but God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Troubles come, but Jesus assures us, “Let not your heart be troubled.” When we feel abandoned and uncared for, we are reminded, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Death reared its ugly head, but He Who rose from the grave promised, “I am the resurrection and life. He who believes in me, though he die, yet will he live. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” We are at ease because of these promises; and we are more confident because the One who promises is faithful.
God’s peace is not oblivious to life, unconcerned of what is around it. It is not a cloistered quietness in a distant monastery somewhere. Nor it is an introspective ego-centric faith that is in perpetual self-examination but peace that acts, is active and involving. A peace that reaches out to others whose wholeness is completed by helping a brother or sister in need or in distress.
The calmness that comes from God strengthens us to confront the challenging issues of life undaunted. For we already have this peace in us, and by His indwelling Spirit, we use it in our involvement in the daily rigors of life. It is now His strength working in us and for us. The load is bearable and the struggle is less arduous.
This peace is not akin to the stillness of death. It is serenity in the bustle of life, right there in the middle of it. It is life of unperturbed peace of God in whatever situation, good or bad. The very core of Christian belief rediscovered – God is our all. In the face of death, we have hope (1 Thes. 4:13-14) and peace settles in our heart knowing death is only a temporary stop, not our final destination. Our true place is seeing Jesus face to face when we move from here to where He is.
Moving further as my toes reveled on the soft sand and the gentle wetness of the receding waves, the coolness of the night blended well with silence. I stood there alone under the light of a very bright moon refreshed at these pleasures; and the quietness of the surroundings drilled a different enchantment on my ear.
Somehow nature has the ability to produce serenity; and it is in silence, that borrowed stillness, reminding us that the peace the fills us come from the God of peace. He placed nature a hint of His eternal character, a very evident and undeniable message too clear to miss.
We stand enthralled by the marvels of nature; captivated by the beauty it conveys and in hushed breath we are touched by the stillness. For our daily tension, it brought relief. Our hardened faces, and stressed out muscles relaxed and our taut nerves calmed. Silence has, in the human heart, a curative effect.
Inevitably, nature and its silences provoke a response on our part. Its immensity overwhelms. Our inner most beings swamped with spiritual curiosities. And questions are drawn more than answers. Who we are in the whole scheme of life? Are we that important? Or a drop in the ocean of people? A striving wick blown here and there by the wind of circumstance?
It humbles us to realize that we are not the center of the world. God is. With this awareness, we are reduced to our real size. That in reality, we are unimportant, feeble and vulnerable. This discovery popped our pride and invincibility. We are not what we mislead ourselves to believe. This released us from the pressure of needing to perform and accept who we really are. Limited. Flawed. Dust. But determined.
For we can never carry around nature or hold it in our tiny hands to benefit from its favors of tranquility when a need arise. We can capture it in photographs as a keepsake for some unforgettable experience. Yet these are outward trappings to stillness. And possessing it does not actually guarantee peace of mind. It is essential we carry the stillness within. This kind does not depend on nature’s benevolences but on God’s gift of peace.
As Jesus’ disciples sorrowed in His impending death, He comforted them, saying, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you” (John 14:27). We, also, have this peace when received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and are justified by faith (Rom.5:1). We have peace with God. No longer there was enmity between us and God. Not only do we have peace with God, we relish the peace of God in our everyday lives as part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22,23).
In the commotion life, we often hear ourselves complain. In like manner our busyness fills our minds with cares and preoccupations that it deafens us from what God is saying; His voice appearing inaudible most of the time. And the peace we have seemed lost and distant. Somehow the rat race makes rat in some of us, engrossed with the morsels. Yet, what we need is to settle ourselves down, and collect our bearings. In quietness we look to Him, and immerse into Him, then we can hear God speak to us, not just His inexplicable presence surrounding us. His Spirit will be present, comforting us. His Word will strengthen us.
When we are forced in the wall or when the hard place and the rock looked formidably the same, we are confident that our God is not against us, but on the contrary, a circumscribing wall around us, Who goes before us, and in us.
Our peace is not founded on some dogmas or empty philosophies that would only make us feel better. It came from the steadfast, reassuring Word of God. Storms hit unexpectedly, but God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Troubles come, but Jesus assures us, “Let not your heart be troubled.” When we feel abandoned and uncared for, we are reminded, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Death reared its ugly head, but He Who rose from the grave promised, “I am the resurrection and life. He who believes in me, though he die, yet will he live. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” We are at ease because of these promises; and we are more confident because the One who promises is faithful.
God’s peace is not oblivious to life, unconcerned of what is around it. It is not a cloistered quietness in a distant monastery somewhere. Nor it is an introspective ego-centric faith that is in perpetual self-examination but peace that acts, is active and involving. A peace that reaches out to others whose wholeness is completed by helping a brother or sister in need or in distress.
The calmness that comes from God strengthens us to confront the challenging issues of life undaunted. For we already have this peace in us, and by His indwelling Spirit, we use it in our involvement in the daily rigors of life. It is now His strength working in us and for us. The load is bearable and the struggle is less arduous.
This peace is not akin to the stillness of death. It is serenity in the bustle of life, right there in the middle of it. It is life of unperturbed peace of God in whatever situation, good or bad. The very core of Christian belief rediscovered – God is our all. In the face of death, we have hope (1 Thes. 4:13-14) and peace settles in our heart knowing death is only a temporary stop, not our final destination. Our true place is seeing Jesus face to face when we move from here to where He is.