God’s Perfect Peace
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It Is Well With My Soul, Horatio Spafford, 1873
I’ve been thinking a lot about peace lately. What it is. What it isn’t. How I need more of it. How I’ve been going about it all wrong. Until recently, I felt peace was something for the lucky few. And I did not consider myself one of those lucky few. I had people in my life (the seeming lucky few) who seemed to have a sense of peace. They appeared carefree and unbothered. I mistakenly attributed this to them being very lucky people who rarely had anything go wrong in their life. Or I wrongly assumed they were apathetic and as a result, at peace. I know, I know. Bad thinking on my part. And self-pitying. An embarrassing confession to make. But perhaps I’m not alone here?
I’ve spent much of my life trying to get it to go my way. If things would just go the way I want, then I would be happy and relaxed. At peace. It has taken me years to realize things will rarely go exactly as I want. I decided I’ll either never find peace or I’d have to go about seeking peace differently. Never having peace is simply too depressing, and I was exhausted from trying so hard. So, I decided to go about seeking it another way. A simpler, gentler way: finding a way to be at peace with the way things are rather than the way I think they should be.
I had to figure out what peace is and isn’t. Peace isn’t my life going perfectly. How can I expect perfection out of life when I myself am imperfect and I’m living in a world where everyone else is imperfect? Peace is also not me being apathetic to what happens in my life or the life of my loved ones or the world. So what is peace? The song “It Is Well With My Soul” written by Horatio Spafford in 1873, has been on my mind the last several months and its first verse has become a refrain in my life for what peace is:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Spafford wrote this hymn after surviving significant tragedies: the Chicago fire in 1871 that lead to his financial ruin and just a couple of years later he lost his four daughters to a shipwreck. The pain in his heart he must have felt! But this is it. This is the peace I want—my soul to be well whatever heartaches I face, big or small. But how does one find peace after such tragedy? How will my soul ever be well when I even have trouble finding peace during minor inconveniences? Turning to God is the only way I have found to truly work. Everything else I have tried has been a short-lived fix at best. Talking to God, sitting with God, crying to God and expressing gratitude to God are the only things that have given me glimmers of genuine peace. And the more I turn to Him, the more my peace muscle is strengthened. And the more He heals my soul.
My intention this year is to cultivate more peace in my life by making a habit of turning my thoughts to God throughout each day. To give thanks for everything that is going well, to seek his solace during difficulties and to be honest with him about what I am struggling with. My life will not go perfectly, but I can have perfect peace despite my struggles by turning to God and seeking comfort with Him rather than temporary fixes. When I take the time to be present with Him, I am always reminded by His quiet, gentle voice that no matter my circumstances, ultimately everything will be okay and I come to know “it is well with my soul.” The scripture I plan to base my year around is Isaiah 26:3:
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! isaiah 26:3 (New living translation)
I’d love to hear what you’d like to cultivate more of in your life this year. If, like me, you are seeking more peace, join me here for a guided meditation on God’s Perfect Peace:
