Nothing makes us more aware of our need of peace than intense turmoil. Your high school child dies in a party shooting. Your spouse dies suddenly. A family member attacks your opinions or your faith. You transition from one job or community to another location. You get married but don’t know how financial needs will be met after the honeymoon. You find out your spouse has cancer. Some destructive secrets come to the light. You have a miscarriage for 4th time. Believe it or not, these are situations I have come into contact recently and I could add a few more. Chaos is real, and I am sure you can fill in the blank here with a few of your own difficult experiences.
So I was looking for peace this past week and considering any truth God would offer to me in my search for some peace. God gently led me to Psalm 119:165:
“Great peace have those who love your law;
nothing can make them stumble.”
As I reflected on this verse, I saw that tracing peace to its source begins with inclining our hearts toward the instructions God gives us. Furthermore, the kind of consideration we give to His instructions is essential to our experience of peace. The author of this Psalm clarifies that it is not just knowing what God says but loving what God says. What we see here is both a relationship to truth and a relationship to a Person, God. To disconnect our love for God and lean only on His truth would leave us vulnerable. God’s revelation is closely connected to His character, and as we know God and experience Him personally we then develop this deep love for His truth, His instructions.
Peace has another element. At least in this verse, we are promised that as we love God’s instructions we will be kept from stumbling. Notice that the verse does not guarantee that we won’t be shaken. The shaking will come, but we will not be allowed to stumble. Oh, this brings so much comfort to my soul. I hope you find comfort and hope in knowing that God loves us through His instructions and finds a way to keep us from stumbling.
What turmoil are you experiencing in these days?
What kind of shaking are you facing?
Where are you seeking your peace?
Great peace. Great peace! Great peace is what God offers to us as we allow our love to be anchored in His instructions.
Peace to you.
—Diego Cuartas
*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.