Mike Rutledge.CA

With all the craziness that we encounter, read, and at present, see more every day it seems, we are often left with feelings of hopelessness, rage, dread, and large amounts of stress. When these things are present in us, we look for ways to diffuse them, we search for a sense of what come call ‘inner peace’, a calm amid the storm if you will.  But, unless we actually know what we are looking for, we will never end up finding it. Imagine being sent on a treasure hunt, but you aren’t told what you are looking for, the only thing that you know is that is must be out there somewhere. What a colossal waste of time! A wild goose chase as the saying goes.

I do believe that finding this peace is possible; that we can have an inner tranquility in spite of the lack of it in the world around of us, but as I said we must know what it is so that we can search it out. So then what is this ‘peace’? Peace cannot be a state of being, by that I mean that feeling we crave, a simple emotional and/or intellectual rousing of some sort. I say this because, there is no state of being, that is permanent except for death. For peace to be worth pursing it needs to be permanent.  It needs to be foundational. Something that will anchor us through the times in which chaos is brewing. Emotional states are fickle, they ebb and they flow, and if we reduce peace to simply a state of being, then we must admit that true peace is death. And that doesn’t seem to be the answer. We aren’t seeking for death, we are seeking for a life permeated with peace. Life, not death. If you want to admit that peace is death, then death is your option, and most people are either too fearful or too rational to assume such a position. We know that death isn’t the answer. We feel that need to live, the desire to thrive. Therefore, peace needs to be beyond fickleness, beyond the ebb and the flow, peace by its nature must be permanent.

Peace must also be real. If we assume that peace comes by admitting to a reality of illusion then by that assumption the peace you might feel at any moment is itself an illusion and thus not permanent nor helpful. We know on a basic level that what I am experiencing is real, is actually happening. Those lives in Iraq are actually being taken, the stresses from work and family are real, the people I meet exist, and so just escaping to an assumption of illusion is both weak and unhelpful. Peace must be real since it needs to be able to deal with the real issues of life.

Peace must also be effective (and by virtue of this, dependable). This may seem obvious, and that is because it is. To search for peace is to desire something that will actually work to bring about a sense of peace, that sensation of rest, which is permanent and real. And I must be able to trust that it will happen all the time. To desire something that might bring peace, or to seek after something that is uncertain in its ability to do so, seems foolish. To search after peace in things that cannot produce the desired rest is simply illogical. Though we do it all the time.

To sum up so far, I have said four things. (Inner) Peace is not a simply state of being because a peace worth pursuing needs to be permanent, but it also needs to be real and effective. If there is something that is permanent and real, but cannot produce peace, its not worth pursuing. If there is something that is permanent and effective, but not actually real, it is not worth pursuing. If there is something that is real and effective yet not permanent, we are left again with a fickle sense of rest, that is momentary and fleeting.

But, as I said, I don’t think peace is simply a state of being, a feeling we hold. It needs to be stronger than that if it is worth pursing. My suggestion is that peace is a relation. Peace is a subject to subject relationship that must be permanent, real, and effective.  The relationship itself must have these 3 things wrapped into it. And if we can agree to that, then we can begin to see why so many relations fail us in this purist of peace.  For example, some seek peace by having a relationship with the drink. But, if we put this relationship up against our criteria, we can see how it can fail. It may for a moment be real and effective, but it is not permanent at all, and in it is wake can bring more chaos. But even its effectiveness can be called into question since its dependability to bring the sense of peace weakens as the relationship increases. Some seek peace in a relationship with fantasy. They will loose themselves is books, movies and the imagination. This in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, but it is a poor peace bringing relation, because it is neither real nor permanent. Some other people will seek peace from a relationship with other people.  This seems a little more comprehensible, since relationships (marriage, family, friends) bring to our lives so much joy, happiness, love and protection. But these have their problems with peace bringing. Though they are real, they are not permeant nor dependably effective to bring the sense of constant peace we desire.

Therefore, we need a relationship, but one that is beyond us, so that it can sustain us.  One relationship can fulfill all the requirements of a peace seeking soul. A permanent, effective, dependable, real, relationship with Jesus. To seek your sense of peace in Him is to seek peace in a relationship that is real (yes, you may argue this point, but we can have that discussion another day), that is permanent – by His nature, Jesus is never ending, never stopping, ever pursuing, constant, and unshakeable – and that is effective – Jesus is the most powerful, righteous, loving being that is in existence, and as we see the gospels,  if He can bring peace to storm, He can bring peace to your soul.

Inner peace doesn’t always stop the external stresses, but it give us the anchor to hold through the storm. Though, if more sought peace from Him, I have no doubt there would be more peace in the external world. Jesus is the only place where you can find any peace worth finding. Momentary relief, though enjoyable, is not permanent rest. Momentary elation is not soul level tranquility. Peace can be found, it is real, it is powerful, effective, dependable, it is permanent and it is only in Jesus. Cast on Him your cares in prayer, trust in the creator of the universe, find solace in the arms of a God willing to go through hell and back to bring you the peace you are searching for. Relinquish the need for control, worship the sovereign God, put yourself right where you need to be, a creature, not the creator. One who is dependent. Once you can realize this, it is an easy move to find peace in Jesus.