CREEPY LULLABIES

& STOLEN PEACE

When Judah was a brand-new baby, we would strap a little monitor to his foot every night.

It was supposed to give us peace of mind by alerting us if he ever stopped breathing. I think it actually took 10 years off my life.

Every night around 2am, a creepy lullaby would start blaring, signaling that our baby had stopped breathing.

Deliriously, Faith and I would launch out of bed, wrestle past each other down the hallway, and burst into Judah’s room, only to find him sleeping peacefully like… well, a baby.

The thing we strapped to him for peace of mind became the very thing stealing our peace!

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately, because I keep hearing people say you’ve got to protect your peace.

I even looked up the most-watched video for that phrase, and guess what? It’s a sermon by a popular preacher. His message was basically, don’t let people upset you: Walk away from the rude ones. Ignore the jealous ones. Don’t let anyone ruin your day. Protect your peace.

That may sound spiritual, but it’s quite different than the peace Jesus offers.

Peace In the Bible…

Peace is a deeply biblical concept.

But the way we’re often taught to protect it is not.

“Protect your peace” resonates because so many of us are tired…

• Tired of conflict
• Tired of drama
• Tired of emotional overload
• Tired of carrying the weight of everyone else’s expectations

Amazingly, Jesus Himself acknowledges your exhaustion when he says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).

Jesus knows you’re tired, and he wants you to have rest.

So the problem isn’t the desire for peace.

The problem is what we’re willing to sacrifice to keep it.

…vs. The World’s Peace

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you” (Jn 14:27).

Did you catch that?

Jesus draws a clear line between His peace and the world’s peace.

The world’s peace is something you have to defend.

Christ’s peace is something you receive.

One has you sleepwalk-fighting your spouse at 2am. The other has you sleeping like a baby.

This week, instead of asking, how do I protect my peace from this person, this season, or this situation? —try asking God, what does it look like to receive Christ’s peace right in the middle of it all?

One means you have to be the bouncer at the door of your life.

The other lets you enjoy being the beloved child of a Father who has everything under control.

I'm praying this week you stop white-knuckling peace like a monitor that keeps failing, and start receiving the peace Jesus has already provided for you.

WITH YOU IN THE JOURNEY,

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