Can You Have Peace Inside Even Though You're So Busy?
How can you have peace inside and a calm inside you when you're running around and so many things in your life are adding stress and worry?  Certainly, it would be a challenge for us to base whether or not we are going to feel peaceful, or happy, or have joy inside, based just on the circumstances that come our way.  You know all too well that situations can change pretty quickly in life!  In having a personal relationship with God, the Bible talks about having a peace that goes beyond understanding.  That is because it's a peace that is not based on the circumstances that we find ourselves in.

Here is a story about inner peace that maybe you can relate to.  Long ago, a man sought to find a painting that would be a perfect picture of peace.  Not finding one that satisfied him, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece.  The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide.  Finally the great day of revelation arrived.  The judges looked on as one peaceful scene after another was uncovered.  The viewers clapped and cheered and the tension grew until only two pictures remained veiled.  As a judge pulled one cover back, a hush fell over the crowd.  A scene of a mirror-smooth lake reflected tall white birches under the soft hue of the evening sky.  Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed.  How peaceful a setting!  Surely, this would be the winner.  The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise.  Could this be peace?  A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice.  The crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray.  Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain.  In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls.  One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.  There, in the midst of this, a little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch.  Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs.  With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested a peace that transcended the environment she found herself in.  This painting was the winner!

Isn't that a clear picture of real peace?  A peace inside that isn't dependent upon the circumstances that happen to come your way.  Sometimes in your life, it seems like there are roaring and rushing things happening all around you.  By taking our relationship with God off that dusty shelf in the back of our heart and placing Him right at the front our lives, we can clearly see that our inner peace doesn't depend on whether or not there are troubles and difficulties in life.  A personal relationship with God brings the peace of knowing you have the promise of a home in heaven forever!

At Prince of Peace, we share the Good News that a personal faith in Jesus brings a day to day peace that doesn't depend on the circumstances we find ourselves in.  Jesus brings to you a real, true, and lasting peace.  You can trust all the days of your future to the truth that Jesus has already made it so that you can live in the perfectness of heaven!  That brings an inner peace that goes beyond understanding sometimes.  You are invited to come and hear more about God's great love for YOU!