“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” -Prayer of Jesus, John 14:27

Peace, like hope, isn’t necessarily the absence of what troubles me. I’m gradually learning that peace, like hope, is a disposition of heart and mind despite all the things I wish would go away. John Claypool writes about three ways our prayers for deliverance are answered: (1) miraculous intervention (the problem is completely removed), (2) collaboration (God helps us solve the problems we face), and (3) acceptance (the problem isn’t removed, but God helps us live with it). (The Hopeful Heart) The peace of Christ is like this. Sometimes we feel a flood of peaceful bliss. Other times, God helps us make changes that lead to greater peace. But still other times, we learn to come to peace with those things we can’t change. This year, I find myself learning to do more of this. Instead of blustering about perpetual irritants, I’m trying to find a sign of God’s peace despite them. To this end, I’m drawn to one of Howard Thurman’s prayers (Meditations of the Heart). “GOD is present with me in the midst of my anxieties. I affirm in my own heart and mind the reality of God’s presence. God makes immediately available to me the strength of His goodness, the reassurance of His wisdom and the heartiness of His courage. My anxieties are real; they are the result of a wide variety of experiences, some of which I understand, some of which I do not understand. One thing I know concerning my anxieties: they are real to me. Sometimes they seem more real than the presence of God. When this happens, they dominate my mood and possess my thoughts. The presence of God does not always deliver me from anxiety, but it always delivers me from anxieties. Little by little, I am beginning to understand that deliverance from anxiety means fundamental growth in spiritual character and awareness. It becomes a quality of being, emerging from deep within, giving to all the dimensions of experience a vast immunity against being anxious. A ground of calm underlies experiences whatever may be the tempestuous character of events. This calm is the manifestation in life of the active, dynamic Presence of God. God is present with me this day.” Today, I invite you to join me in this experience of God’s dynamic presence. -Dr. Dan The Messenger

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