Return to JesusSample

RETURNING TO PEACE

Many of us long for peace in our harried lives, but we can’t figure out where to find it. Peace is completely counter to all the noise swirling around us and the hundreds of directions we feel pulled in a day.

Yet Jesus told his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

You have a God who longs to meet with you in the sacred and the mundane, in the hurried and the calm. He longs to hear your voice, your thoughts, and asks you to “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). That doesn’t mean you spend your whole day on your knees in prayer, shutting out the world. God calls you to be in regular communion with Him in the midst of your daily rhythms. To abide with Him while you move through life.

Maybe you go on walks where you practice being present with your environment and your God and simply listen. Maybe you turn on worship music while you pack lunches in the morning. Maybe you grab your journal and jot down the ways you are seeing God in your life today. However you choose to return to Jesus, you will find peace in the busy. Your mind and body will slow, and your breath will grow more even. Your eyes will move from your circumstances to your Creator.

These days, I often meet Jesus at the kitchen sink, while folding laundry, and in the car while I wait for the kids to come out of the­ater rehearsal. The real­ity of life right now is that small snippets of time work for me. And I know that in whatever way I meet with the Lord, He is glad I am there. Whether for one minute, one hour, or one day, He rejoices that I have returned. He meets me in that space and He freely gives His peace.

As you shift your gaze from in and around to up, you will find restoration for your weary soul. You’ll find a peace that is beyond earthly understanding—but is exactly what God longs to give.

Name a few specific times in your day when you could return to God in prayer and receive his peace.