Peace that passes understanding

One of my aunt’s said, “I don’t know how you do it; you have been through so much.” At that time, I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. What looked like “so much” to her obviously was nothing to me.

Since then, we’ve been through “so much” by my definition, yet I am astounded that I’ve experienced the same calm spirit that sustained me through the “less much” that my aunt was talking about. Whatever those things were, it may have been a practice run, or a warm-up, for the next round of life’s mountains.

This morning I’m reading Psalm 55:22. It says, “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

One version says I will not “be shaken” and another says I will “not fall.” Both remind me of similar promises. Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

God doesn’t promise a trouble-free life. Were that the case, the whole world would stampede to the Cross. On the contrary, a Christian’s life could be far more eventful and full of difficulties than the average. Consider Job. He was a deeply righteous man, one that God commended for his faith and obedient life, but God allowed Satan to take from him his family, wealth, and health. Job was a spiritual battleground, not because he was a bad person, but because he was a faithful believer in the Lord.

The Apostle Paul is another example. He was God’s great spokesperson for the Gospel, wrote much of the New Testament, yet he suffered too. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, to verify his ministry in comparison to false claims, he tells the church at Corinth, that he “worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”

Jesus didn’t live a peachy life either. The first years might have been quiet, but once He began His ministry, it was only three or so years later that His enemies killed Him.

“Cast all your burdens . . .” obviously does not give me a ticket to no problems, no trials. These three took what was happening to them to the Lord, and He didn’t remove the problems for them, so I cannot expect He will necessarily do it for me. However, He did carry them through each trial, over each mountain.

Philippians 4:6-7 clarifies how He does it: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Anxiety is a reflection of distrust in the sovereignty of God, distrust in His plans for my life, distrust that He knows what He is doing, distrust that He cares about me. If I’m sure He is in control, sure His plans are good, sure He is wise and loving, then I have a perspective of my personal mountains that like the eagle flying over them rather than like the mouse that is looking up. I may not have a clue what or why, and I may feel some dismay (Job did, Paul did, and Jesus sweat drops of blood), but for prayerful trust He promises a soaring sense of peace.

Today’s burdens are not very big. No one is dying or ill, at the moment. Life is ticking along. Sometimes I think, Will I be able to cast my burdens on Him when those big ones come along? Will I trust Him in the very worst trials?

Then I realize that He is my Savior; I cannot save myself—even from my own doubts. When the mountains loom high, He will sustain me with His peace, that peace that gets me up in the air closer to Him.