serene

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 ESV 

Perhaps slowing down displays trust and faith. The faith that it is impossible to please God without.


“AHHHHHHH” My mind screams. The thoughts keep coming. There is no ease, no stillness, no…peace. Have you ever felt that way? Maybe your mind is running a million miles a minute, and you crave stillness or maybe you are avoiding what is next.

Peace is freedom from disturbance. Where has your mind been disturbed? When we are not at peace, we tend to overthink. I’ve heard in a sermon recently that overthinking has two causes, a fear of the outcome and a desire to control the outcome. The solution to both is trust. Trust produces contentment. And no one modeled this better than our Savior himself, Jesus. 

Jesus is the prince of peace.

Jesus is peace personified. He walked; He never ran. He was not hurried or rushed. He was present. Grounded. What produced that in him? Trust. Trust in his Fathers' will, the timing for his life, that he will make it wherever he needs to be at the appointed time. Can you see the pace at which he walked? Can you feel the relaxed nature in his cadence? His shoulders were down, teeth unclenched. Can you hear his tone when he says “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41)?

I live in NYC, and we love a fast pace. We have 8,000 things to do all seemingly at the same time. We will begrudgingly dislike the slow walker during rush hour. But what if God is calling us to walk slowly? Take a deep breath and take our time? I know, so countercultural! Perhaps slowing down displays trust and faith. The faith that it is impossible to please God without (Heb 11:6).

Peace guards and protects us (Phil 4:7), knowing that God will do just what He said when he said it. Knowing Jesus dying for us is enough and that everything has been and will be fully satisfied in Him alone.  If we seek Him and do not look to the right or left, there is a guaranteed peace accessible to us daily (Pro 4:25-26).

He keeps us.  So, let’s allow ourselves to be kept.

With Peace,
Ashley Lewis

additional reading:

John 16:33 / John 14:27 / Romans 8:6 / Psalm 34:14/ Romans 5:1

reflect:

What quality of God brings you to have peace and trust in him? Think of a time when you had peace that surpassed understanding. How did God show up?

centering prayer:

Thank you Jesus for being the peace I need in a troubling and terrifying world. When the storms come and life happens, thank you for overcoming the world and giving me peace that surpasses any human understanding. I am grateful that it’s only because of you I can walk in and live in peace. Help me to keep my eyes on you. Help my unbelief. I take a step of faith and believe that as I trust you, peace will come. In Jesus name, amen.

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