You’re Invited to Take Heart: Three Ways to Have Peace even in the Storms
It’s been a long time since I have had this type of day. The day filled with the feeling of missing something or that I should be doing something. Everything feeling urgent and nothing within my control. No storms swirling around me; the storm was within me. As I wrestled through the storm within me, I was reminded that I can have peace, I can take heart even in the storm. And so can you.
The Storms
Like me, maybe you’ve experienced these storms: the days when everything on the outside seems relatively calm, yet something inside you feels unsettled. You find yourself bracing for a problem that never arrives. Your heart races, your stomach twists into knots, and still, there seems to be no obvious reason for the storm swirling inside.
For others, however, the source of the storm is painfully clear. It is the spouse asking for a divorce, the unexpected health scare, the relationship unraveling, or the mental and emotional struggles that feel impossible to quiet. Sometimes the storm is within us, and we cannot explain why. Other times, the storm has a name, a face, and a reality we cannot escape.
Whether our storm is internal or external, Jesus offers us a clear invitation in John 16:33, “I have told you these things [of his death to come and resurrection] so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus, amid all he was enduring and about to endure, gives us an invitation: Peace. From the One who faced the storms of people’s ridicule and betrayals and endured internal wrestlings of pain, grief, and heartache, the invitation for peace stands (Matt. 26:39; Luke 22:44).
Obtaining peace is not always an easy task. And it is less likely to be a “one and done” activity. Rather it is a standing invitation from the Father. Here are three ways we can “take heart” no matter the storms and troubles we may face.
Three Ways to Experience Peace
1) Own the Truth
Jesus is clear, “In this world you will have trouble.” No sugar coating or minimizing. These are plain and simple words packed with truth. If Jesus is not minimizing the pain we endure, we do not need to minimize it either.
Whether the storm is brewing due to external events or internal pain, we do not have to pretend as though we are not experiencing trouble. We can own the truth before us: our struggles, our pain, our storms. Doing so does not make us less Christian, just as it did not make Jesus less of himself. When we own the truth of our troubles, we allow ourselves to see the invitation before us to take heart. Without owning the truth of our experiences, how can we accept the invitation of peace if we do not think we need it?
2) Brace for the Peace
This may seem an odd instruction for experiencing peace. However, as both a therapist and someone who has endured the turbulent terrain to peace, I with certainty can say that peace can be unsettling. I remember after years and years of fighting external storms, as well as my own anxiety, grief, and more, the first time I experienced true Jesus-filled peace, I thought something was wrong. I was anticipating the proverbial “other shoe to fall.” I almost felt anxious about the peace!
What I realize today as a therapist is that when our nervous systems have grown accustomed to being hypervigilant, peace doesn’t seem…peaceful. We must practice sitting in the peace of Christ and acclimate to it. In doing so, we can take heart and accept that he has “overcome the world” on our behalf. He desires us to experience rest, hope, and peace even in the storms. We can “take heart” in this never-ending peace because we know he has invited us to it.
3) Practicing Peace
Jesus provides us the invitation to peace. It is an invitation for a lifetime. While he invites us to it, he cannot force us to implement it into our lives. I do believe there are times, however, that he covers us with a peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). Yet he also gives us tools to practice peace daily in our lives. These tools not only help us to fight the enemy who “prowls around like a roaring lion,” but also these tools help center us and provides us discernment for the peace we need (1 Peter 5:8).
Practicing peace may look like time in God’s word and in prayer. It may also be implementing calming techniques such as deep breathing, guided imagery, and more. Moreover, it may be taking care of our bodies through medication that help us navigate anxiety, depression, and more. God has provided tools on this earth hat help us overcome the troubles we face. And one tool is no less than another. Sometimes they are all needed. And our use of one or another does not equate our level of faith. It is simply what we need to practice the peace God has called us to.
Final Thoughts
Jesus understands what is to face peace in the middle of life and death. With the same power in him, he gives us power to experience and know the peace that he offers through his standing invitation to “take heart.” While peace may seem foreign to our nervous system at times, we can rest assured that green pastures, quiet waters, and a refreshed soul is ours to have (Psalm 23).
