I know you already know this, but 2020 has been an unbelievable, and rough year. Pent-up emotions unleashed, brutality on display over and over and over again in living color, anger and resentment driving people to vengeful behavior.
Within and amidst all this chaos, how can and does one find peace?
Not temporary peace that ebbs and flows with beautiful or ugly reality, but the kind of peace that comes and stays and quiets your heart in the midst of pain, injustice, and grief.
Perfect peace.
Dr. Don Colbert recently had a great blog post about finding peace and purpose in these unsettling times, and I’d like to use some of his post highlight concrete ways to find peace right now. Some of them we’ve recently discussed that I’d like to re-emphasize.
Read on to discover 10 tips to finding peace in the chaos.
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Name the source of your anger, fear, anxiety, pain—
It’s okay to be angry about something, or with someone. But often we feel angry about “something” without really knowing what that “something” is.
A big part of being able to find peace is naming the source of your anger, fear, anxiety or pain. Naming it gives you opportunity to confront it and understand it.
This is where journaling comes in, which we’ve talked a lot of about in the last several posts. Not only is it okay to journal, it’s healing to do so.
Thankfully, our Heavenly Father isn’t put off by our anger. He even demonstrated His own righteous anger when He cleared the temple of what He called “a den of thieves.” Thieves that made it impossible for people to reach and worship Him.
And the Bible is full of verbalized complaints, anger, frustration, pain and questions. Just read the Psalms, and Job.
Name the source to gain control over it. Just ranting and crying out to God about it helps unload it and qualify it. While He may not agree with your limited assessment about the cause, He will listen and guide you in your thinking and healing.
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Remember who is ultimately in control—
Although we certainly are surprised, God isn’t surprised by any of this. And that’s good for us, because He alone knows why it’s happening, (He sees what’s really going on behind the scenes and reads hearts), and He alone is the One who can give direction for leading us into greener pastures everyone can enjoy, rest in and feast upon.
It does a turmoil-filled heart good to remind itself of that.
If you want answers, go to the source of the right questions. The One who can give you the results you seek. And talk and listen to Him in prayer and meditation.
As a friend of ours likes to say, “Pray and pray often.”
He loves you and wants to hear from you. Often.
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Focus on God’s power and promises—
The Bible is loaded with reminders and proofs of God’s power, promises and provisions, and it’s important to pick out a few verses to remind yourself of that.
Some of the passages Dr. Colbert presented are good ones to keep in mind.
“…be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
“Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets’” (Matt 22:34-40).
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).
Another passage I’ve used as a foundation for my life is Joshua 1:9:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
But the passage before it sets up this command, and it’s worth noting:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Do you see it?
There is an if-so-then-that set up. If you read God’s word, meditate in it and try to commit your life to it, then you’ll be more able to prosper and find success in life.
Does hard work always guarantee success? No, because evil works all around us, seeking our failure. And our fallen human condition makes us broken and weak.
We are big sinners in need of a big savior. And we have one in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.
One last passage I’ll note that is particularly pertinent right now:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8)?
How much different would our world and lives look if we:
- Loved the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, and souls?
- Loved our neighbors as we love ourselves?
- Didn’t melt down in anxiety about anything, but, instead, took all of our anxieties to the Lord and prayed continually—with thanksgiving—about it?
- Remember that God loves the WHOLE WORLD (that He created), and everyone in it and made the ultimate sacrifice to have a relationship with us?
- Remember the Lord is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love toward us?
- Act toward others the same way He acts toward us?
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Use these truths to pray through and out of your anxiety—
As the famous Nazi concentration campus survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, said,
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
Prayer fills out hearts and minds with strength. It can restore our joy.
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Take your thoughts captive—
You can talk yourself into almost anything, including fear and anxiety. So it’s important to be able to talk yourself out of them, into gratitude, contentment and joy.
Again, prayer can do that, as you take every time and energy-wasting thought to God and ask Him to do something about it. Ask Him to remove it. Give it away to Him to deal with.
He’ll know what to do with it. You can trust Him on this.
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Take action in your own life and on behalf of others—
Nothing stops you from spending too much time thinking about yourself and wallowing in your own problems or negativity than to re-focus on others and their needs.
Put your energies into positive actions.
There are a lot of injustices in this world. Look around and identify one you want to pour your energies into and rectify.
What can you write about? What can you volunteer to do to help alleviate suffering and pain?
If you’re unsure, pray about that too. God will open your eyes to needs in your community. He’ll use your gifts to work to right wrongs, to stand up against prejudice and greed and all manner of evil.
And while you’re going about it, make sure you pray for the people you’re standing against. It will calm and open your heart toward them. Help diffuse tensions and open up lines of communication.
It’s very difficult to be angry with someone you’re praying for.
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Keep a gratitude journal—
Every day write down 3 things you’re grateful for; or at least thank God for them in prayer. Doing that opens your heart to receive joy and peace for the good things in your life.
And not stress so much on the things you don’t have and wish you did.
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Make sure you do your deep breathing exercises—
As part of your daily meditation, make sure you do your breathing exercises that I highlight in this post
People who do these breathing exercises and meditate experience more peace and gratitude, have less anxiety, and live longer.
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Make sure you nourish your body—
Keep your body nourished with good, natural food, the right amount of sleep, fresh air, and exercise.
All these ingredients are critical to good brain function and emotional, physical and spiritual health.
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Spend quality (and quantity) time with loved ones—
Even though it’s more difficult right now, make sure you carve out time for loved ones. Doing so releases the hormone oxytocin, a natural stress-relieving chemical.
Petting your cat or dog does the same thing, as does looking into someone’s eyes, (even your dog or cat’s eyes), receiving or giving a hug, laughing with someone. Sitting close to them. Touching one another.
Even though it’s difficult to do right now, make good, strong eye contact with people. Even with a mask on, you can usually tell when their eyes sparkle from a smile, a kind word, a joyful encounter.
And I’ve gotten braver, as I’ve hugged several friends I hadn’t seen in months or over a year. Mask on, I’ve put my whole strength into my brief hug, and I’ve enjoyed a enveloping hug in return. Just giving and receiving one makes you laugh with joy and relief.
Am I foolish and reckless for doing it? Perhaps. But I’ve decided that life really isn’t worth living without a hug or two; and—especially because one of my love languages is touch, and I grew up in the land of hugs (Hawaii)—my mental and emotional health require it.
So I hug, while praying that God will protect me from deadly viruses and germs.
As you go forward this week, I want to leave you with two things that have lifted my spirit and given me more joy and peace.
Lockdown
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan, after so many years of noise,
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet,
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
is offering free meals and delivery to the
housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call
on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and
Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.
All over the world people are looking at their
neighbours in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a
new reality.
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the
soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to
live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your
panic
The birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
March 13, 2020
Until next week, when we’ll continue our grief myth discussion,
may you be filled to overflowing with joy, peace, and abundant blessings!
Andrea
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a fitness pro, senior-ordained chaplain, and award-winning inspirational writer. She works and writes to help people recover from trauma, grief and loss and to live their best lives — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.