To Edify Or Not: Peace in a Storm
There’s an icy breeze in the air that makes the pine trees sway gently above my head. Through the thick down of my coat I can feel the snow pressing against my back. The sky is pitch black and full of clouds, so the bulky snowflakes that coat my lashes seem to float out of nothingness. The air is perfectly crisp and clear, a reprieve between blizzards. Despite the wind and snow whirling about me, the world seems still and peaceful, and I feel Yahweh-God.
There are three different types of peace in the world. There’s the kind that shows its smiling face in the happy moments of life, when the world spins smoothly and everything goes according to plan. There’s the kind that stills us in the aftermath of a life-altering event, the peace that comes in knowing the worst is behind us. And then there’s the peace that stops us in our tracks right in the thick of the storm. It’s the kind of peace that grabs hold and permeates the soul, strengthening in preparation for the next round of strife, be it greater than the first, warming before the cold of another blizzard.
When it comes to peace, I prefer the calm that rests gently on me when laughing with friends, communing with family, or enjoying the splendor of creation. That kind of peace may not be as profound, but I would often trade profundity for fair circumstances and ease of living. As alluring as happiness and peace are when they come packaged together, it’s the peace that comes in the midst of the most violent storm that reveals the most about our Lord’s character. It is not in times of rest that Yahweh’s peace can be experienced at its full power, for when peace rests on a peaceful person in a peaceful situation, there is no contrast by which to measure it.
The same peace that is felt during times of joy is amplified a thousand times when experienced in the middle of tribulation. It is a more difficult thing to be still of heart in the midst of a raging storm than it is when the sun is shining, and yet it is usually the most trying things in life which are the most spiritually rewarding. Therefore, when we “meet trials of various kinds,†we should indeed “count it pure joy†since without these trials we could not be blessed with the deep seated peace that is bestowed on those who suffer for His sake. “Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning,†and our joy will be even greater than before because we will have this new kind of peace added unto us as a permanent mark of grace.
Romans 15:13
May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and shalom as you continue trusting, so that by the power of the Ruach HaKodesh [Holy Spirit] you may overflow with hope.
About The Author
