Peace in the middle of pain
It was almost three months ago that I tore my quad tendon. What a day that was, and then to wait for ten days before I could get into surgery drove me up the wall. There is something about your day being filled with sitting in your chair, moving to the couch and then moving to the bed that does not bring excitement into your life. During those days, the most exciting thing for me was to go check the mail and I hated it when it rained!
When I had my staples taken out a few weeks after, I was sitting in the doctors office asking if this would hurt. My wife, sitting on the other side of the room tried not to look at me when he answered, "It will pinch a little, but it's not bad." I found out later that my wife was trying not to laugh since she had experienced the searing pain of people pulling metal out of your skin. The first three literaly had me squeaking, the next thirty were good until they got to the last one which was broken. There was some brokenness that had truly caused pain in my life.
During my times, I have gone back to a verse of scripture that I learned many years ago. Truly, as I sat there having staples removed from my leg I began to quote, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." (Isaiah 26:3) Each time those staples began to pinch, or I would see my skin turn in ways I had previously thought impossible, I would begin to quote those words saying to the Lord that I was trying everything I could to focus on Him!
Many of us are in the middle of pulling out some staples in our lives. Maybe not physically, but there are many things that are hurting you right now: your marriage is in trouble, your kid has walked away from the faith you tried to share, your job is in jeopardy, you just heard the words, "you have cancer," and so many other things that come your way. Many in our nation are concerned over who will be elected in just a week. This candidate is rude, that one is a liar and that one is a waste. What should we, as people of faith, do in times like these?
Enjoy the peace of God! "What?" you say. How can I enjoy the peace of God when all of these things are going on around me. Let me refer back to Isaiah with a little side note. Peace is not the absence of chaos, but rather knowing what, or who, to trust in the middle of chaos. There will always be chaos in your life ~ at some points more and other times less. Chaos, trouble or even conflict is inevitable. Peace, however, become a choice that is based on where you have put your trust.
How am I to trust my spouse, their walking out on me? How can I trust my job, their firing me? How can I trust my government, their corrupt? Did you hear the questions you just asked? Every one of the questions I listed, and the ones you asked, had you at the center. Isaiah, though, says that peace comes from being steadfastly focused on the one who loves you. The one who will never walk out on you or kick you out the door. Peace can be real even in when you realize you are not in control of your kids decisions, or the decisions of a nation for that matter. Peace is understanding that God has been, is currently, and will forever be God. That the events of this world have no bearing on that truth.
Did the removal of those staples bring pain? My answer is there was more than just a little pinch! Will there be pain and trouble in your life? The unfortunate truth is yes. We all wish there was a way to make it all go away, but we all know that it does not work like that. In those moments, God says I am faithful to you in the good and bad. I have loved you with an everlasting love and I am a rock that cannot be moved. I am the one that is faithful to the very end, and you can trust me...even in the middle of the chaotic storms of life ~ I am your peace.