At some time or another we have all experienced the deep sense of peace prevailing while contemplating something sublime. We have, perhaps, observed the the first flush of dawn steal over the slumbering hills, in the manner poetically expressed by Shakespeare thus:
“Full many a gloried morning have I seen,
Flatter the mountain tops with sovereign eye,
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.”
Again, we have watched dusk come down on those same hills and the shadows have deepened into blue, then purple, and perhaps at the same time a wave of low cloud has curled over the hill crests and plunged down into the valleys, like a silent incoming tide, burying them in fog fathoms deep, in the hush of coming night.
The serenity and peace associated with the grandeur of nature makes a deep impression on us, the harshness of life slips away and we feel released and chastened by the contemplation of how glorious is the power of the Master-Mind who planned and created such beauty for man’s benefit.
But we are concerned with another form of peace, that which comes with knowledge of God and faith in His Word: a peace which can remain with us in all circumstances, and needs not the contemplation of nature’s serenity to instill.
That peace, one of heart and mind, began when we found out what Truth meant, and we were delivered from aimless wandering through life and given a job to do with a definite object in view, and our feet were placed upon a highway which leads to Mount Zion and the satisfying of every worthy desire of the heart and mind.
Jesus has said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14. 27). How much is wrapped up in the words we well know when we follow in His lead and remember how He walked serene and quiet among the adversaries in His day, who, with anger loud attempted to unsettle Him and trip Him up with trick questions, but His cold logic, based on Scripture, proved their own undoing. He walked with God, his Father, in unity and peace, with a set purpose, towards a desired end.
Walking With God
We, in turn, attempt to follow where He has led, and to a degree have found out the deeply satisfying nature of that peace which He left with us, that we might survive the shocks of life and overcome the world, with its snares at every step, its grief at every corner.
We have espoused a Gospel of Peace (Ephesians 6. 15), and its peace comes with the dual use of thought and deeds. The Lord gave us this rule of conduct: thinking and acting. Purity of thought, unselfishness in action, gives us serenity, peace; and peace is power, because the inner tumults of our being are subdued and under control, and we calmly endure the strains and stresses imposed by this world, which is up-to-date in everything but godliness and faith.
The cultivation of peace is progressive. It does not descend on us in a moment. Our Father has given us the general outline of His purpose, though much detail is left out that faith might be exercised right’s. Hence there are fears, because we are not always certain just where our ship of hope must sail. The onward course is not clearly lit for every mile; but we can look back and see a shining wake lit by God’s goodness and love and our peace is deepened.
Many of life’s lessons are hard and perhaps not understood, but when we learn to say, “Thy will be done”, and trust Him to bring us through, we have approached somewhat the standard of the Lord’s serene mind, and sampled that peace which comes along to those who walk with God.
The Lord links His peace with an untroubled heart (John 14. 27). When we know God’s truth, and are assured of our destiny, then our hearts are calmed, because we see beyond the travail of the years, as Jesus did. We learn to do noble deeds and not just dream of them. We are confident in whatsoever state we are in, and do not murmur because life doesn’t pan out as we planned. God may have decreed adversity where we expected a blessing. Having covenanted to obey Him, shall we be amazed when He permits a shadow to fall across our path?
In these troubled times, when men are already reaping the evil of that which they have sown, we desperately need that peace which passeth all understanding. The human wrecks are piling up around us, because they know not God, and for us
“Wherever the helpless sons of grief
In low distress are laid,
Soft be our hearts their pains to feel
And swift our hands to aid.”
God does not dole out His blessings one at a time; He showers them down with His love, and He expects us to help our fellows by word and deed, that perchance we might kindle some heart-fires that have burnt cold. Because we follow not the world we are deemed beggars. Little do they realise that those same beggars have heavenly treasure!
It is hard to be kindly, gentle, patient, thoughtful. but these virtues generate peace. We have disappointments, but then, “our disappointments are God’s opportunities”, it has been said. As we press on to Zion we remember that Israel only reached the promised land after a long and bitter wilderness journey, which weeded out all the unfit from among the congregation.
To have peace of mind and heart we must be content. Paul advised Timothy that godliness with contentment was great gain, and suggested that, as they had food and raiment, they could be content. This is being contented with a minimum of life’s blessings: how much more in these days have most of us, and yet the voice of complaint is not unknown.
A little thought will probably chasten us, and rightly so. With an abundance of this world’s goods we may have a job to line ourselves up with those noble men and women of past ages who were yet our brethren, who wandered homeless and destitute and persecuted for righteousness sake, sheltering in caves and dens of the earth, like hunted animals, yet they endured and turned not traitor to their trust. If they could endure, as seeing Him who is invisible, surely we who have peace and plenty can walk serenely with God, having hearts and minds filled with God’s peace, being like Jesus, who, during His earthly ministry, on one occasion calmly slept, while the small boat in which He lay tossed in a raging storm.
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay