The Truth About Tomorrow

Every day it seems that a harrowing news story flashes across my computer screen. I see the images of pain and disbelief filtering through human emotion and media perspective. Fear clouds my focus and I can feel frozen; unable to imagine my way out of the bombardment of anguish I see.

It’s so important to mourn with those who mourn. It brings an unspoken healing. It brings hope to places entrenched with anger and fear. It brings peace that surpasses all understanding. I have written several times on peace. We often think of peace as a freedom from war, hostility or worry. But, a Biblical definition of the word 'peace' has many deep meanings.

Peace, coming from the Hebrew word shalom, primarily means 'to be complete or whole'. It is used to bless the journey, the comings and goings. Peace is often used in reference to action - with walking, with forward movement, with our feet.

Luke 1:78-79: “because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus about the armour of God and how your shoes are peace. In Romans 16:20 "And the God of peace will soon crush Satan underneath your feet." In Proverbs 3:17 "Wisdom's ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peace". The prophet Isaiah wrote: “You will go out in joy and led forth in peace” (Isaiah 55:12).

It is this ‘led forth’ in peace that precedes our current circumstances. It is the forfeit of the soul’s lack of true identity - worry, fear, anxiety, stress, and so on – that instigates the spirit’s purposed design.

You see, in order to obtain peace, we have to first give up our understanding- the why’s, but’s, not’s, what if’s, and should not’s. We need to remove our want to control the situation and respond to our situation with a mind that is steadfast. A mind that 'reminds' the enemy that Jesus has “told [us] these things, so that in Him we may have peace. In this world we will have trouble. But take heart! He has overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Paul goes even further in to write that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14: 17-20).

I once got the beautiful revelation through a painful experience that “peace is a path, not a racetrack. God wants to walk with you.” (AKS, Peace) The journey of shalom is lifelong, weekly, daily, and momentary and shalom manifests when you encounter life. You see, the indwelling of peace in your life is not measured on how strong the storms you encounter are, but how strong you are when you encounter the storms.

Everything the world can create to imitate true peace will never last; I know you can name those temporary things that you have to continually return to in order to fill up your "peace" tank. Yet, if you “find your security, success, and peace in God. Then, and only then, can it never be taken from you.” (Mike Bickle, IHOPU)

Look at your feet. The conscious, active choice that you will make as you take a step forward can be filled with the understanding of who you were created to be or it can be filled with questioning who you are. I love that Jesus is our Prince of Peace, not the teacher of peace, the prophet of peace, the doctor of peace – no, He is the Prince. I curiously looked up ‘prince’ in a thesaurus and found two synonyms for this word – a leader and a gentleman.

Jesus is the sovereign and the invitation; He is the door and the way. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28) and it’s not going to look like yoga or meditation or exercise or Netflix or massages. Jesus is gentle and humble in heart, and you will find peace for your souls (Matthew 11:29) – your mind will be at peace, your heart with be at peace, your emotions will be at peace!

My calendar and my planning books are fabulous – these are great tools, and in choosing peace, it does not mean to forgo planning, preparing, expecting, and hoping for tomorrow. In choosing peace, it means that you will trust God, you will believe in who He says you are, and you will walk through the valley of death and not fear.

Peace is often viewed as the reaction to action, but truly it needs to be the action. Friends, no matter what you are going through, do not rely on your understanding; we do not see the big picture of our lives or the affect our life has on others. I often like to say that we see the tangled mess like that of the backside of a tapestry, but when we come through the fire, the storm, the night – we get glimpses of the front side of the woven design. It is beautiful. It is woven through the choices we make, and the way we act.

From one person who struggles in the tangled threads and messiness of life, I need to continually make the choice for peace. Every. Single. Day. I challenge my “tomorrow self” in this and I invite you into the very aware choice to join me. The reward for choosing peace now is greater than our hopes for tomorrow. The reward of walking with the Prince of Peace is eternal, but it needs to start today in order to effect tomorrow.

I will finish such a deep, deep focus with the apostle Paul’s writing to those in the Christians in Rome during a time when persecution was on the rise and the spirit of confusion roamed to steal the peace of the early Church: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Overflow. It is what peace enables you to do.

So, tomorrow, I choose peace.

- AKS xox

3 Simple Steps to Tomorrow's Peace

1. Be proactive! When you mind gets going on all those 'what if's', actively stop it. Make note that your worry leads to stress and steals your peace. If you tend to stress getting ready in the morning, put a sticky note on your mirror reminding you of your Prince of Peace. If it's going to bed, put a reminder next to your bed or if it's at work, put a reminder on your phone to cast your cares on Jesus.

2. Resist procrastination. Get done what you can do now so that you can rest when you need to. The power of lists is strong with me, so I use the list to motivate me in my day. Find what works for you and get it done.

3. Turn off the news. Take control of how much stuff is coming at you on your computer, on the radio, or your T.V. and minimize it. You can actively pray for the world, but ask the Lord what your attentions should be given to and how to pray.

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