I was reflecting over my life…thinking about the peace I now have compared to when I was married. I don’t want to sound as if I didn’t have any peace or joy when married to my ex-husband because I did. The peace I speak of now is consistent peace, whereas there was inconsistent peace in my martial union. My bible study sister asked me how to discern God’s voice when seeking peace regarding difficult situations. I sometimes speak about my divorce in bible study, I assume she asked this question because she sees & hears peace when I discuss that chapter in my life. However, I remember the many restless nights, in which peace was no where in sight. I tried to invoke my own understanding, thoughts, and relied heavily on my faith. I read the scripture..” God hates divorce.” This made my inconsistency of peace increase even more. I know The Word of God is true but what I failed to acknowledge during restless days and nights were the many scriptures that referred to peace. Such as…”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)
I had faith that all things were possible but my heart was troubled and I was afraid; was I actually contradicting the word? Faith and the acceptance of God’s will equals peace and as long as I projected my thoughts, fears, and tried to control my ordered steps, I realized that I wouldn’t experience consistent peace. I wanted peace so desperately, I prayed, received counsel, fasted,…and on my quest for peace my steps were directed to a priest and although I am not Catholic, the priest an unlikely source simply based on how I projected my life to turn out became a blessing in disguise. I had confirmations and great wisdom given to me along my journey but the words of the priest resonated in my heart and moved my spirit so that I could hear God’s message for me. I never really thought about this until this moment, my ex is catholic and it’s interesting to me that my path would be directed to a catholic priest.
After all of the worrying and wanting to be in control of my life, God showed up in the most unexpected way to meet my need and remind me that He is in control. God often does that in our lives, responds to us in unexpected ways to remind us that He is in control. The priest’s spoken words…”God wants His children to be happy” enlightened and awakened me. It was my “aha moment” of reality. The definition of peace that I desired was consistent peace of giving and receiving happiness, non-judgement, forgiveness, love, and complete surrender. Peace is not forcing your will on someone to accept you. Peace is the reality of your current situation and realizing that sometimes peace means letting go of people and situations that disrupt peace.
If you are going through a challenge, be it personal or professional… listen to your spirit and intuition; do not ignore the truth or reality of your situation. Work diligently to find solutions to resolve conflict. Peace is important because it’s one of God’s gifts to us. Marriage is a beautiful union and what peace has taught me is that each of our assignments are divinely unique. Some of our marriages will stand the test of time and some will result in a different outcome. But at the end of the day…there are no surprises to God and if your life is destined for a different path…then His will be done.
God knows your heart and if you have done what He asks of you, if you have no ill intent or wish no harm towards others then at some point you must release your understanding, control, fear and trust The Lord with His direction of your life. If you desire consistent peace be it personal or professional define what peace means to you and hold on to your defined belief. Don’t waver or settle for inconsistent peace because God is consistent in all things, especially peace. He’s not afraid, confused, troubled, hopeless, restless, miserable, or sad. We will have troubles and challenges in life, relationships, and careers but consistent peace is attainable because God wants His children to be happy.
Until the Next Blog,
Blessings & Love