Permission For Peace

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” (Col 3:15 AV)

 

One three-letter word struck me this morning.  One simple little word that did not seem like it belonged.  In the context of group dynamics, it is pretty normal to use this word.  But in a personal application, it struck me as out of place.  To use this word as it applies to an individual makes sense on one hand.  But it is not thought of that way most of the time.  The word?  LET.  Let the peace of God rule.  It struck me as odd in the sense that the peace of God as it comes to the individual is not thought of as something we control or permit.  It simply comes as a byproduct of other things we do.  For example, Paul tells his disciples to pray and care for nothing.  If they do, then the peace of God will rule their hearts.  In short, the peace of God is something we yield to.  It is something, at least in this passage, we permit.  Which begs the question.  If we have little peace of heart, does that mean we will not permit it?  To be honest with the passage, the instruction here is to a group of people and not to an individual.  Letting peace rule is a discipline of group dynamics.  In this context, it makes complete sense that a group must permit peace to rule.  But in individual applications, the same can be true.  We lack peace because we will not permit it.

When things are hard, I like to go to wide open spaces.  Spaces that allow me to dump my cares and walk away.  Wide open spaces that seem to have no end.  There is the shore of lake Michigan or the vast swamps of Necedah wildlife refuge.  There are many very tall buildings where I can see the horizon over the city.  Recently, when Lisa was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery, I went to the end of the halls and peered out the windows.  Two of the large windows looked out over lake Michigan.  One was in the south wall and looked back at our house.  The other was on the north face and looked out over the greenery of Wisconsin for many miles.  I left her room as she slept.  I needed to walk around and get the blood going in my legs.  But what I needed most was the wide open spaces where I could lay all my burdens at the feet of Jesus.  What a really needed was permission to rest.  What I really needed was to put all those cares for which I was responsible and put them behind me.  Even if it was temporary, I needed to walk away for a bit and allow the vastness of no constraints to flood my soul.  What I needed was to remove the burdens of things I needed to tend to and allow someone else to carry them for a bit.  While I looked over lake Michigan, the burdens belonged to the nurses and doctors.  While I gazed over the north woods of Wisconsin, our church belonged to Jesus Christ – as it always had.  While I gazed over the south view and saw our church steeple, I was reminded that it had been there for over a century and will be there long after I am gone.

If we live in a constant state of discontentment and fear, it is because we have chosen to.  The peace of God is something we permit.  We permit it when we abandon all those things that war against it.  When we harbor a hardened heart or emotional states that work contrary to the peace of God, we are not permitting the peace of God to rule in our hearts.  The peace of God is not something that floods our souls when we do not wish or seek after it.  It is something we yield to.  Is it something we permit to rule?  If we allow that which cancels peace, then peace cannot rule.  This is the essence of living by faith.  We must abandon any self-reliance and place it all in the hands of God.  We must abandon all behaviors which agitate the filial love of the Father.  If he is forced to deal with us after our sin, then He cannot bring the peace which He so desires we have.  The peace of God is either permitted, or it is rejected.  The choice is ours.  God is ready to give us if we permit it.  He is ready to calm our souls.  He is ready to still our hearts.  He is ready to overcome that which overwhelms us.  All we need to do is yield to it.  May we learn this lesson sooner than later!