Peace in the Storm

I summarize a Palm Sunday sermon, “Finding Peace in the Midst of the Storm,” with practical recommendations for applying spiritual principles in scripture.  Inner healing and wholeness are gracious gifts for believers who work for them.  As “the spiritual life is not a theory,” spiritual principles have little benefit apart from applicability to life.  I, consequently, hope the following suggestions yield God’s peace in your life.

As it relates to personal development and spiritual growth, PMS stands for prayer, meditation and self-evaluation.  Prayer opens the door to God’s peace, which transcends all human understanding.  In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul encourages the church to forsake anxiety and present their requests to the Lord with thanksgiving and praise.  God’s peace guards your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.  When we meditate, we listen as the Holy Spirit speaks through the small voice within us.  We raise our minds to a spiritual level that surpasses physical and daily concerns.  Meditation also involves self-evaluation.  Essentially, we determine why we lack peace.  The spiritual disciplines of PMS additionally incorporate daily Bible study and quiet time.  Norman Vincent Peale offers a helpful formula for combating fear.  (1) Don’t panic!  (2) Get organized.  (3) Think.  (4) Pray.  (5) Apply what you have learned.

Second, acquire an intricate knowledge of God’s unfathomable love for you.  An infinite God who loves limitlessly will not allow life’s storms to conquer you.  Consult the following passages to begin a comprehensive Bible study on the love of God in Christ Jesus: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, John 3:16-21, 1 John 4:18, and Lamentations 3:22-23.  There is, moreover, the blessed assurance of David in Psalm 37.  “I was young and now I am old and I have never seen the righteous forsaken.”  God does not leave us nor does He forsake us.  In addition, He always provides for us.  In Genesis 22, Abraham discovers He is Jehovah-jireh, the Lord who provides.  God provides even in storms.  Lastly, Psalm 139:13-16 inimitably describes God’s profound love for us:  “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Third, lose yourself in service to humankind.  Loving our neighbor as ourselves is the second greatest commandment.  Jesus insists we lose our lives in order to save them.  Life appears as one big storm when one considers innumerable problems that plague humanity.  It is overwhelming to think about crime, HIV/AIDS, military conflicts in the world, homelessness, teen pregnancy and drug trafficking.  Some believers escape these problems by simplistically relegating them as the products of a sinful and fallen world.  Others avoid them by asserting salvation of the soul is the response to these multi-faceted social dilemmas.  Yet, I recommend we regain visionary impulses of the early Church.  I believe a cure exists for all diseases and social challenges.  If each believer dedicates himself to solving one problem, he finds peace in God’s divine plan of reconciliation. 

Fourth, a life with integrity yields tremendous inner peace.  In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus sleeps on a cushion in the back of the boat.  His rest symbolizes peace in the midst of life’s storm.  Just sleeping without tossing and turning means you have found it!  However, if our actions do not cohere with our rhetoric, it is highly probable we will not enjoy blessed rest.  James advises we let our “Yes” be “Yes” and our “No” be “No.”  Living with integrity of word and deed is the surest pathway to finding peace.