In my Original Design, one of the things is "PEACE to withstand ANY circumstance". I have the capability to have peace no matter the circumstance, but this isn't just for me, this is actually something that Jesus left with us as a command as He left earth and ascended into Heaven....
John 14:27
"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."
Then this morning I was listening to Adventures in Odyssey (if you dont know what it is, it's a radio drama I've listened to since I was a kid) and "It is Well" was playing. This episode tells the story of Horatio G. Spafford, the man who wrote the song "It is well with my soul". It tells the story of his life and the tragedies that he endured. He lost his son to sickness, he lost his business to the great Chicago fire, and then he loses his 3 daughters to a ship collision! I can only imagine what his emotions were during that time, but in the midst of it he penned these words,
"When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll,
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul"
Then it hit me! Not that I didn't know but it was a good reminder for me. Peace is NOT an emotion! It is a CHOICE! His emotions in those times were most likely the furthest thing from peaceful but he writes about how even when he is faced with the decision to have peace or give into his circumstance, God has taught him to choose peace.
Peace is hard to choose sometimes. Sometimes it's hard to understand how you can choose peace in EVERY circumstance, but one of my favorite Bill Johnson quotes is this, "If you want peace that passes understanding, you have to give up your right to understand". Peace shows trust in God. When you have to choose peace you are choosing to say "God I don't get this, I dont know why this is happening but I trust you." Peace is the result of faith in God, the opposite is despair. Wether you have peace or not will allow you to see where you are placing your faith. God calls us to thrive with whatever hand we are dealt, it's called good stewardship. Even if you only have the breath in your lungs you have something to give the world. What are you going to choose to do with that breath. Complain and grumble and be miserable? That's not what we are called to. We are called to peace in EVERY circumstance. Give up your right to understand, choose peace and you will see miracles happen in your life. To have a miracle you have to have an impossible situation. We often want the miracles, but without the impossible situation.
So what it comes down to is a choice. I have to choose to reject self pity, and act from faith which will result in peace. You don't always choose your circumstances, but you can choose how you are going to deal with them. I used to discipline myself that whenever I was in a bad situation that was out of my control or I didn't understand I would sit down at the piano and sing "I dont understand your ways, oh but I will give you my song, give you all of my praise". That should be our response 100% of the time. No excuses. He promised us peace, if we don't have peace it's because we are rejecting it.