Bring It All To Peace

This last week weighed a little heavier on my heart. I just completed my last week of junior year, and as the school year comes to a close it is always accompanied by goodbyes. Some I will see next year, but others I won’t because they are moving or have graduated. The end of my junior year means the beginning of my senior year. Crazy. That is a lot to take in. Then I begin to entertain the questions of “what if” and “how will it all work out?” Worry begins to creep in, slowly but surely, and if I do not take those thoughts and concerns to Jesus immediately it festers into anxiety and panic. I became overwhelmed earlier this week thinking about scholarships and if I will get into the college I have my eyes on because I don’t have a Plan B.

Through multiple scenarios this week God reminded me to trust Him. He has made a path for me to fulfill my purpose and He will provide. I know He has a plan. His plan may not look like mine, but I know His is better and I trust that. I have faith that God will swing open the doors as wide as they can be if they are for me, and if they are not for me then they will close with a thud. This brings me peace far beyond comprehension.

I got my yearbook earlier this week, and when one of my teachers signed it she wrote something that is going to stick with me. She said that whenever she has a conversation with me she feels that I am at peace amidst the chaos and it is contagious. She also said that “Serenity” would have been a fitting name for me. This brought peace to my mind, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I was listening to a worship song the other day that said “Jehovah Shalom.” I was curious as to why when I sang that my spirit felt like calm waters and all turbulence ceased immediately. That title means “The Lord is Peace.”

Read that last sentence again. The Lord IS Peace. He does not possess it, but it is a part of Him. We cannot obtain genuine peace apart from Him. The more time I spend in prayer, and reading the Word, and worshiping the more He lifts my spirit. I am assured that He has a plan for my life. I have peace knowing that He will provide a way. There has not been a single time in life that God didn’t show up. I am living proof, and so are you. God is good. God is faithful. God is your provider. God is your peace. Let His offering of peace embrace your spirit and cover you in your storm. Let the turbulence cease and rest in His presence. Call on the name of the Lord because all anxiety has to bow at the feet of Jesus.

This reminds me of the story in Mark 4:35-41 when Jesus is asleep on the boat with His disciples. A gnarly storm brews and hits, swamping their boat with water and thrashing them about. The disciples were frightened and woke Jesus up out of fear.

39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

No matter how big the waves get, Jesus is there to calm it.

“I’ve said these things to you so that you will have peace in me. In the world you have distress. But be encouraged! I have conquered the world.” — John 16:33

“I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the Lord; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.” — Jeremiah 29:11

“Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.” — John 14:27