The Peace that Transcends all Understanding

So the darkness is hovering off in the distance, far enough away to not be enveloping, close enough to know that it's there. There's a number of things I should be. I should be better at dealing with garbage, the minor inconveniences that pile up periodically in life. I should be able to better handle demands that I can't necessarily meet for one reason or another. I should not feel as if I should have the answer to every problem that presents itself regardless of its origin or my culpability.

But part of the problem is I should. Winners find a way. Losers don't. But too often I don't find a way. Guess what? Neither do most other people. It's an often-quoted statistic that the best hitters in baseball fail 70% of the time. Thomas Edison failed thousands of times, it's said, before creating the lightbulb. Lincoln never won an election until he was elected president. God failed with billions of women before He created my wife. (Okay, that was a little gratuitous, but she might read this some time, and I'm not above a little bit of brown-nosing.)

Phillipians 4:4-4:9 says a great deal about this:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you. (NAB)

Look at the progression. I am to rejoice, a command so nice, Paul said it twice. My kindness should be known to all, for the Lord is near. I'm not in charge of making all good things happen and preventing all bad, to assume such a responsibility is foolish. If, by prayer, I make my requests known to God, petitioning Him, then--if I do what I am able to do--that is enough. Knowing limitations and trusting in God to work through those limitations is the key to peace.

Then, and this is an area where I am out-and-out horrible. I concentrate on the crap that's going on. How this one did that or the cat got sick and cost two grand (and hasn't brought in a stinking penny since we got her.) If I concentrate on good things--truth, honor, justice, purity, loveliness, and all that--peace is mine.

It seems so easy--until you try to do it.