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There's a quiet desperation in the way we chase peace, dontcha think? We organize, optimize, and plan, convincing ourselves that if we can just get enough control over our circumstances, the anxiety will finally stop.
But peace doesn't work that way.
Every time I strive harder than I surrender, I end up exactly where I started: restless, searching, still reaching for something just out of grasp.
Because peace isn't something we can manufacture. It's not waiting for us at the end of a perfectly executed plan or hiding in the right productivity system. And it definitely doesn't arrive when we finally get all the answers.
and uh psssst…we never do :)
Peace comes when we stop grasping.
It emerges in the surrender, in those moment we finally admit that we were never meant to carry the weight of outcomes we can't control.
There's a relief in that admission that we can’t get there on our own. The uncertainty we feel doesn’t just disappear on the other side of that understanding, but we stop pretending we were ever equipped to manage it alone.
John 14:27 puts it plainly:
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.
There's something deeply countercultural about that kind of peace.
We live in a world that rewards the ones who hustle hardest, plan furthest ahead, and never let their guard down. Surrender sounds to us like giving up. But for God, it's the opposite.
The world offers peace as a reward for effort, but Jesus’ economy is upside down: He offers it as a gift.
It’s one that doesn't depend on our ability to figure it out, but is measured on our willingness to let go of the idea we could do any of it better on our own. It’s measured on our willingness to walk with the One who, as Megan Fate Marshman so simply puts, isn’t worried about a thing.
This is the invitation: to release our grip on what was never ours to hold. To trust that the God who sees us in our striving also meets us in our surrender.
So peace isn't found in the knowing. It's found in the trusting.
This week's practice: Take a 10-minute walk and listen to what God has for you. Breathe in his grace, exhale your worries. Try to look for evidence of his presence rather than reaching for distractions.
Honest prayer: God, I'm so tired of trying to control my way to peace. I've built so many systems trying to protect myself from uncertainty, and everything apart from you fails. Teach me to find rest in surrender because You made me knowing my limits. Help me trust that You are holding what I cannot and don’t ask me to carry it alone. I ask your holy spirit to remind me my surrender isn’t a failure, and I can release my grip to receive the peace that only You can give. In Your Son's name, Amen.
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