I’m a big Sandra Bullock fan. In the movie “Miss Congeniality,” all of the beauty contestants (including the Bullock character, an FBI agent undercover as a contestant) had the same answer to a pivotal question: “What would you like to see most in the world?” Down to the last contestant, they all replied, “World peace.”
They each gave a sparkly smile when they answered as the judges indicated their approval. After all, who wouldn’t want world peace?
In this upside down world where “good is bad” and “bad is good,” I will settle for inner peace. Wouldn’t you?
Fake news, mis-used media platforms, war, economic problems, sexual confusion, and so many bad things in this world are more than enough to discombobulate any person in his/her right mind.
I’m not out there in the daily grind most people experience, because I’ve been bed-ridden for over three years due to an infection that has invaded my body. After five surgeries, re-starting physical therapy, and hoping again for my old life back, each time the infection ravaged my wound and body, I ended back up at ground zero, losing a little more hope. At the first of the year, I had my sixth surgery . . .back to ground zero.
In the months between my fifth and sixth surgeries, I finally grasped a truth I’ve known since I was a child . . . a truth I had experienced at times but didn’t adhere to my heart.
Jesus Christ is our peace (Romans 5:1).
It’s hard to have peace of mind when your body is failing, and no one has any solid answers; when you are in physical pain that eats at you until you are full of mental and emotional pain; when hope sometimes glimmers brightly and sometimes dims.
Don’t get me wrong.
I’ve always known that I am God’s child and that even when I couldn’t feel His presence, I knew by faith that He is with me. I’ve been blessed to have many faithful people who have supported me in prayer.
But when doctors can’t give you answers; when mistakes are made or overlooked; when you dread the pain of the wound and the pain of the needed therapy; when you’re alone with your thoughts too much; when you can’t go and do the things your friends and family do; when your mind is screaming “WHY, LORD?” . . . it is hard to maintain the scraps of peace you have left.
That’s when you have to say, “Jesus, hold on to me, because I’m hanging by a thread.”
I was seeking God, trying to stay in His Word more than ever, and listening to music that praises Him.
One day, more bad news came. There were more pinholes in the wound, more seepage, increased pain, and I would have to undergo a sixth surgery. On top of this, in the previous months, my husband’s health had been deteriorating, and my son had an accident that caused a Traumatic Brain Injury with much that it entails, including having partial eyesight. He is still unable to work and living with us. Watching those I love who are in pain just added to the confusion and upset I felt. Discombobulated, big time.
Then one day, as I was thinking about my husband Bill’s health, my son’s prognosis, as well as my upcoming surgery, plus trying to arrange doctor appointments for us, keeping Bill’s many medications up-to-date, paying bills, and other tasks that have to be taken care of even if you are stuck in bed, it suddenly occurred to me that I wasn’t antsy or fearful or “discombobulated.”
I actually thought, What’s this?”
Then I realized I felt completely peaceful. I had been praying that God’s perfect love would cast out my fear (1 John 4:18) and that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, would guard my heart and my thoughts in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).
He answered my prayer. And it didn’t just happen that day. I had felt this peace for a while. I just hadn’t recognized it. I almost felt guilty because I wasn’t worrying about everything. How crazy is that?
God has kept me in His peace ever since. I have had many moments of peace during the previous three years but nothing like this day-in-day-out continuous peace. This soul-felt steady peace that doesn’t jump in and out of my mind according to circumstances. The fruit of His Spirit includes peace (Galatians 5:22-23).
I want to bear the fruit of His Spirit in my life all day, every day.
What a gift! Next to salvation, God’s peace is my most cherished gift.
No more discombobulation. Only peace. God is in control.
Karen DeLoach Life Moments 