How Would You Describe Peace?

Peace is becoming more and more scarce these days. And we probably shouldn’t be surprised, since Jesus warned us that in the end times, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:6-8 NIV).

Events unfolding on the world stage fit what Jesus described. And yet, the phrase that jumps out at me is not “wars and rumors of wars,” or even “famines and earthquakes.” No, the phrase that stops me is that all these events are merely the beginning of the end times.

How Would You Describe Peace?

So how would you describe peace? It’s not the absence of the scenes Jesus described. It’s something deeper . . .

A story has been told to illustrate our frequent confusion surrounding the definition of peace:

A king offered a prize to the artist in his kingdom who painted the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king examined all the beautiful pictures and was especially drawn to two. Now he had to select a winner between them.

The first picture was of a calm lake. The lake mirrored the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead, fluffy white clouds dotted a blue sky. All who saw this picture described it as a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture also included mountains. But that’s where the similarity ended. These were rugged and bare. Rain fell from an angry sky as lightning flashed across the mountains. A foaming waterfall tumbled down the side of a cliff. This picture did not appear peaceful at all. However, when the king took a closer look, he noticed a tiny bush growing through a crack in a rock behind the waterfall. And in the bush, a mother bird had built her nest. There, surrounded by a rush of angry water, the bird sat on her nest in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture.

“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.”⁵

God never promised us a life free of trouble in our broken world. When speaking of His coming death, Jesus told His disciples, “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Peace despite trouble. All too often we equate peace with the absence of trouble. However, the only way to experience peace in a broken world is to start with the most important relationship of all— the relationship Satan wants us to forget or, at the very least, minimize.

Trust Jesus, the Prince of Peace, in a world that strives to turn our attention away from Him and onto our circumstances. We can’t control world events, but we can control how we respond to them!

Adapted from Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ.