Peace Like a River

I was driving the kids to school yesterday morning and we were listening to a kid's CD with some "oldies" on it and "Peace Like a River" came on. For the first time I was struck by the idea of God's peace in my life being a BIG river. I pictured a rushing torrent that pours through my life, cleaning out the debris that gathers around the edges and in the corners of my soul. I have been thinking about that ever since. It's not that there are not things to worry about, or be concerned with. It's that God's peace can be powerful enough to overwhelm those things and wash them away. It's almost unfathomable to me.


Why? Because I admit that often, my "river of peace" looks more like this:



Even when there is not a huge crisis brewing, or storm clouds looming over my head, I can feel vaguely unsettled around the edges. Sometimes I feel a nagging sense of unease. I could be a professional worrier without too much trouble. The verse in Matthew 6 that says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" can be a big challenge for me. Jesus made it clear that His peace is not the kind of peace we have come to expect. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27 I am praying that somehow I will learn to let God's peace truly be a river in my life. Not a bog, or a brackish swamp, but a glorious, thundering current that I cannot even hope to resist.