The Inside Out Umbrella
What comes to your mind when you hear the word peace? If you are like me, it likely conjures up any number of things – Hippies flashing peace signs as they protested the Vietnam War, Israel and Hamas sitting down at a table earlier this week to sign a peace accord (that will not last) to stop their fighting, someone being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, or maybe spouses trying to make peace after an ugly argument.
Today I want to dig into another kind of peace, the kind of peace that only comes from Jesus. I am not talking about the “lack of conflict or violence” kind of peace that is represented by two warring groups signing a treaty to stop their fighting, Hippies flashing peace signs, or married couples working through their differences. Instead, I am referring to an inner peace that brings calmness and a sense of safety in the midst of a storm. A good illustration is found in Mark 4:35-40 where Jesus is sleeping despite the raging storm that appears to be sinking the boat He is on. Here is that story as written in The Message.
Late that day he said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side.” They took him in the boat as he was. Other boats came along. A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him, saying, “Teacher, is it nothing to you that we’re going down?” Awake now, he told the wind to pipe down and said to the sea, “Quiet! Settle down!” The wind ran out of breath; the sea became smooth as glass. Jesus reprimanded the disciples: “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith at all?”
You can have that kind of peace in the midst of whatever storm you are facing today, whether that storm is a gentle rain or a relentless deluge. That peace only comes by trusting in Jesus and trusting that Jesus is in control. It does not come by relying on people, places or things, because they will eventually fail us. Think of it like this, real inner peace does not come by replacing your old worn out umbrella with a bigger oversized one to shield you from the rain. Your big oversized umbrella only works until a bigger gust of wind comes along and turns your spiffy new umbrella inside out and you find yourself soaking wet once again.
In the last words Jesus spoke to his disciples prior to his arrest, known as the Farewell Discourse (John 14-17), among other things he offers them these words – “Peace I leave you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let your hearts not be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (14:27).
So, to prepare for the storms of life, it is good to have an umbrella, and it is even better to have Jesus! Make it a priority today and every day to pray for a reassuring faith that will allow you to have a peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7) no matter what your current or future circumstances are.