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Peace in panic—you may be thinking that’s not so easy to do, and I totally agree. But think of it this way: When you and I face difficult, rushed, confusing moments and keep our “cool,” we have an amazing opportunity to demonstrate the difference Jesus makes in our lives. It was Rudyard Kipling who wrote: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you,” and he goes on to declare that then “yours is the earth and everything that’s in it.”1 Well, there I would disagree with him. For a Christ-follower when you can keep your head when everything is falling apart around you, then you will be a bold, strong witness to the power of God in you—and that is more attractive than words or sermons could ever be.
These times of panic, fear, and pressure are not just circumstances that happen to come our way, but rather they are God’s teaching moments in our lives. C. S. Lewis said that suffering of any kind is God’s “megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”2 I’m sure you can remember times of pressure and panic which caused you to finally look up—to recognize your need of God’s help and times when you learned to trust Jesus more and more.
Would you agree that the Christian life—our daily walk with God through all of life’s issues, good and bad—is about learning to trust God more and more? So often the Spirit of God whispers to me, “Mary, can’t you trust me?” When I’m at a loss for knowing what to do or falling apart because things aren’t going the way they should, that’s when I desperately need to trust God. Trust him that he has a plan, and it’s a good one; that nothing has taken him by surprise; that all things still work together for my good because I am his and I am his “called one.”
How many mornings I say to the Lord, “Lord, I really need you today.” Often I sing that great old hymn, “I need Thee, oh, I need Thee, every hour I need Thee.”3 There’s no doubt that times of pressure, of panic, or fear and worry help me see how much I need him. You too, right?
Jesus told us Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34). When you and I start thinking about all we have to do tomorrow and the next day and the next, our mind goes into panic mode. The pressures build, and they are too much for us, because they are pressures from tomorrow. Jesus said we have enough to handle just for today.
But if we refuse to dwell on those fearful, worrying thoughts, the pressures of tomorrow won’t get to us.
One of the most important concepts we can grasp in our Christian life is that we are what we think. I find I bring on myself much of my own panic when my thoughts are totally out of control. Panic, pressure, confusion, fear—they all begin with your thought life. So, when there is no peace in your mind, in your life, stop and check out your thought patterns.
You see, if you can keep your mind peaceful, regardless of the hectic situation that faces you, you’ll have peace. You can have peace right in the middle of the panic! Isn’t that good news? You don’t have to give up peace just because you find yourself in the middle of a mess—as my good friend, Sharon, says: “a hot mess!”
Well, that’s nice to know, but how do we make it work? I have a sure fire, guaranteed formula for you. Ready? Here it is. When you’re feeling panic, worry, or fear, and you’re not feeling peaceful, stop and check out your thoughts. Take ten seconds and say to yourself, “I must refocus my thoughts so that I have peace.” And where do you refocus your thoughts? Here’s the secret—you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s found in God’s Word, Isaiah 26:3: You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Take some peace breaks; close your eyes, focus your mind on Jesus Christ and say to yourself, or out loud, if possible, “I want to be in perfect peace right now in the midst of this chaos, so I choose to focus my mind on Jesus Christ.” You may have to do it repeatedly, but that’s okay. It will teach you the important principle of replacing wrong thoughts with right thoughts.
In Ephesians 6 we are told that a key part of our spiritual armor is to wear the shoes of the gospel of peace. Why do you suppose we are told to put peace on our feet? You’d think it would be better to put peace on as a breastplate to cover your heart—peace in your heart. But no, we’re told to put peace on our feet.
Well, here’s how I look at it. Have you ever tried to get through a day wearing shoes that hurt your feet? Is there anything more miserable? Seems like you just have to quit if your feet are hurting, if the shoes don’t fit well.
Think about the boots people in the army wear. Those shoes are designed to be comfortable and do the job no matter what the conditions are. If you’re marching in the hot desert, those army boots keep your feet from scorching; in the snow, they keep them from freezing; on rocky, rough paths, they protect them from cuts and bruises. With those boots on, you’re prepared to keep going no matter what the circumstances are.
Well, when you wear the shoes of peace, you can keep going regardless of your circumstances. It’s the peace of God, which is described as passing all our understanding. Have you ever experienced that kind of peace, where you knew when you looked around you that you ought to be in panic mode, but instead you’re peaceful—incredible, unreasonable peace? When you wear the shoes of peace, you have peace whether it makes sense or not.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make sure you put on those shoes every day, especially when you’re feeling the pressure and the panic. Ephesians 2:14 says, For he himself is our peace. Peace is a person; it’s Jesus. Focus your mind on your peace, Jesus Christ.
You need to put on the shoes of peace each day. I mean, intentionally and verbally tell God you intend to wear the shoes of peace all day no matter what happens—or who happens—and ask him to remind you to put those shoes of peace back on when you step out of them. Make it a daily prayer, especially when you’re facing confusion and panic on the job.
Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:10-12 that the person who intends to love life and see good days must seek peace and pursue it. You have to go for it. It doesn’t just come like a blanket and settle upon you when all the circumstances are just right. It comes when you pursue it. Again, in Romans 14:19 Paul says, Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
It won’t just happen. You have to discipline yourself to stop at those panic points and talk to yourself and to the Lord. Even in the midst of your workday, find a place you can get alone for one minute or five minutes for a peace break. Say out loud, “Lord, you will keep me in perfect peace if my mind is fixed on you. I choose to fix my mind on you. I put on the shoes of peace so I can keep going, regardless of what’s going on around me.”
Jesus is the supreme example of peace regardless of the circumstances. People were always crowding him, trying to talk to him, trying to touch him. He had a hard time finding any space or time for himself. He was constantly under pressure. But I notice that no matter how busy he was or how full the calendar seemed to be, he found time to be alone with God. I read something by R. A. Torrey once which I wrote in the front of my prayer manual and to which I frequently refer. Let me read it:
“Some people are so busy that they find no time for prayer. Apparently, the busier Christ’s life was, the more He prayed. Sometimes He had no time to eat, sometimes He had no time for needed rest or sleep, but He always took time to pray; and the more the work crowded the more He prayed.”4
Lots of times when our schedules get very full, and the panic starts to come in on us, the first thing we sacrifice is our time with the Lord. The days you choose not to spend time with the Prince of Peace, you’ve failed to go to the source of peace, to put on the shoes of peace, those are the days you have to face it all on your own. You put yourself out on a limb, all by yourself, and then you discover you’ve lost your peace, your assurance that God is in control.
What a silly thing for us to do as Christians. Here we have available to us the fountainhead of peace. Here we have the God of all peace ready to heal our frazzled nerves and bring calm in the midst of chaos. But foolishly we don’t go to him. We rationalize: “We’re too busy. He’ll understand. Something has to give.”
Well, that’s a very foolish economy. Believe me, this is a lesson I must continually re-learn. I remember one particular time when the pressures and deadlines were great that I minimized my prayer time for a few days. In his oh-so-gentle way, God showed me when I sacrifice prayer time to relieve pressures and stress, I do just the opposite. I increase my pressures and then panic sets in. He said, “Spend time with me, draw on my strength. You need me now more than ever, and I’ll take the remaining time and make it stretch to meet the responsibilities.”
Your lack of peace may be because you’ve sacrificed time with the Prince of Peace. Sorry, but it just won’t work. Like me, you’re going at it backward. Give God the time and see how he stretches it for you.
Probably the best testimony you and I can have in our hectic worlds is to demonstrate peace in the midst of panic and chaos. I told you about my friend, Janet, who came to know Christ as her Savior because she kept observing one coworker who was peaceful in a chaotic environment, and she decided she wanted what he had. She wanted peace. Are there people around you, where you work, who desperately need peace in their lives? They may never admit it or even recognize it, but when they see you at peace, regardless of what’s going on, they notice, and they want it, too.
We can point people to the One who brings peace, and one of the best ways to do that is to demonstrate peace which passes understanding in our daily lives. I trust you’ll make this a priority for yourself, and learn to put on the shoes of peace, to pursue peace, to have the peace of God evident in your panicked world. If you know Jesus as your Savior, then he is your peace, and he is always available to you, in every place. Start pursuing his peace every day—and all through the day—and find out what it’s like to know a great joy in your heart as you are peaceful when others are frantic! You’ll be Jesus to those around you, and that is the greatest joy you can know.
Sources:
- Rudyard Kipling, “If—,” in Rewards and Fairies (London: Macmillan, 1910).
- C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1940), 91.
- Annie Sherwood Hawks, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” 1872.
- R. A. Torrey, How to Pray (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1900).
