When I was searching for inner peace, I used to do so many unpeaceful things. Now, I do this one thing.
Transcript
Today, we are going to take a “Posture of Peace” by becoming aware of our inner peace.
Posture is a short, audible fist bump to remind you God is with you in everything. Together we’re going to be emboldened take a daily Posture of perfect peace.
In John Chapter 20:19-22 it says, “On the evening of that first day of the week when the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “‘Peace be with you’. After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side, and the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you, as the Father has sent me, I am sending you’. And with that He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit'”. Inner peace, finding peace within yourself, peace of mind, so many are searching for these things right now. And I just love this moment in scripture, I love what it illustrates to us about the presence of peace in our lives.
I’ve talked about this passage of scripture before, but it’s a truth that I will always be astonished by, because Jesus comes right through the doors that fear tries to lock us behind. He cannot be shut out, or shut away from you today. The Bible says that the presence of God now dwells in you. And just notice the shift in the disciples when they realize this truth about the presence of Jesus never leaving them nor forsaking them. They went from being totally locked in by fear to being overjoyed when they saw Jesus. This is what happens when we become aware of His presence in our lives. No matter the circumstances swirling around us, there’s still angry leaders that were out to get the disciples, there was still a broken world they were called to reach. It wasn’t that their lives became instantly easier, or that the circumstances became fixed. It was that their awareness became fixed on Jesus.
When I used to search for inner peace, just some kind of relief from the fear and anxiety I was dealing with, I used to do so many unpeaceful things. I used to be so hard on myself for not having all the answers, or for feeling the way I did. I used to scroll endlessly through social media just trying to ignore or numb the anxiety or the fear, or the panicking thoughts. I used to come to God’s word, or approach Him in prayer like it was a transaction, if I just did the right thing, or read the right thing, or said the right thing, God would then fix my circumstances. Instead of resting in my relationship with Him, resting in His word, resting in His promises, resting in the truth that He never leaves us, nor forsakes us because He is now in us.
So today if you’re searching for inner peace, if you’re feeling locked in by fear or worry, or condemnation, or if you just feel overwhelmed by the circumstances swirling around you, I wanna encourage you to do not all the things, just one thing, make a shift in your awareness, make a shift in what you are fixed on today. Don’t believe the lie that Jesus is distant from you, or that He’s unaware, or unresponsive to what fear is trying to do to you. Instead rest in the truth that your Prince of Peace is already in you. Instead of searching out there for inner peace, instead of inviting peace to come to you, invite Him to rise within you. Become aware of His presence today, and let that awareness spread through your heart and your mind.