Sometimes I feel like peace is fleeting. One moment I experience the perfect peace of the Lord, and the next moment I am desperate for it. Peace is there when my schedule is manageable and things are going relatively well. But, when everything starts to explode – schedules are packed full, circumstances are hard, life is demanding, and I’m just trying to survive, I usually start feeling pretty empty. I have nothing left to give. I don’t have peace. I’m tired. But, more than tired. I feel the weight of not being enough. Maybe you can relate.
I am married to a football strength and conditioning coach and our lives revolve around the seasons of high school football. Everyone calls the regular change of the year spring, summer, fall, and winter, football families know off-season, pre-season, football season, and post-season. Football season is a super demanding time of the year for a coach… and his wife.
We’re in post-season now, which means it’s time to recover. I am usually pretty exhausted by the end of football season and ready for more time with my husband. And I gladly accept extra help with the kids and house and life things. I’m finding it hard to recover though. Football season has shifted to post-season, but our schedules are still jam-packed and I’ve gone from survival to exhaustion to mom-zombie.
The past few weeks, I’ve just found myself asking how I get this tired every year. Not just tired, you know, but depleted. The kind of tiredness a bubble bath or long night of sleep doesn’t fix. It seems reasonable to be tired because of the demands of this season of life, but why can’t I recover from the fatigue? Well, maybe part of it is that the schedule never actually seems to have a break. I know you know what I mean.
Next week should be a bit slower.
Next month, we’ll get to have a little break.
After we get through the holidays, I’ll have some time to recover.
Lies. Life doesn’t seem to slow down in this season. So, if the schedule isn’t going to give, what are we to do? How do we keep going when we feel we’re running on empty?
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
Isaiah 26:3-4
The Lord brought me to these verses while studying a Psalm recently. I spent some time breaking them down, and have three main points – What we need (perfect peace), where peace comes from (the Lord, our everlasting rock), how we receive peace (trust in the Lord).
Perfect peace
This perfect peace we see in Isaiah is derived from the Hebrew word, shalôm. This expresses well-being in all situations and relationships. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord blesses his people with peace, while Isaiah 48:22 says there is no peace for the wicked. We see this term used to describe salvation – the restoration of our relationship with God. We are not able to obtain shalôm on our own. Peace is not what we’re striving for because that battle has already been won. Peace is freely given to us when we trust in God. We are fighting our nature to trust God alone. To keep our hearts and minds fixed on Him.
Everlasting Rock
When we can say Isaiah 12:2 with confidence, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation,” we have the assurance of perfect peace. We have trusted God for salvation and can continue to put our trust in Him in each moment of every day. We are to fix our minds on Him, and He will be with us. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” While we are people of chaos, confusion, and exhaustion, God is not. He is well-ordered, peaceful, and in control. He does not grow tired and he doesn’t need rest. He never stops working. And in all of His doing, he is God of peace. We are different from Him. We need rest from our work – we grow tired and discouraged. As we continue to put our trust in Him – and not ourselves, other people, or our circumstances – He will develop in us the character of God. We will become more like Him. We will reflect His character – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Trust
When we talk about trust, we are talking about where our confidence comes from. Who or what we trust is what gives us security. It’s what allows us to be bold. It’s where we find hope. We want to trust in the things we can see and control. But all of those things are unstable. If we put our trust in people, they will always let us down. If we trust in our schedules or routines, they will change and fall apart. If we trust in ourselves, our entire identity will crumble when we fall short of our expectations. There is only One who is unchanging, steady, and trustworthy. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He is faithful and just. All His ways are trustworthy (Psalm 111:7). In an ever-changing world, we can trust in the One who never changes. Trust in God is the prerequisite for peace.
God is unchanging. He is our Everlasting Rock. Our peace is promised and secured and freely given. We have to keep our eyes fixed on Him. We have to trust Him and battle our nature to put our trust in any and everything else. We don’t generate peace on our own. There’s nothing you can do or no one else who can help you have peace that transcends all understanding. Only Him.
So, your schedule may be full and your tank may feel empty. But, your Everlasting Rock never grows tired and has secured perfect peace for you. Put your trust in Him. Keep your trust in Him. Let Him fill you with the peace and security you need to work and rest and fulfill the work He has called you to.
Practical ways to trust God throughout each day
- Spend time in the Word and prayer first thing in the morning.
- Choose one verse or passage to meditate on throughout the day.
- Pay attention to your thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors and note what they reveal about your trust – are you trusting in yourself, someone else, your circumstances, or the Lord?
- Confess sin to God, and fill your mind with the truth from His Word.
- Work when it’s time to work. Rest when it’s time to rest. You are not God.
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Brittany K. Miller 