Peace In Christ

Too often in this life, we look for answers in all the wrong places. Many people that I’ve known search for their answers in alcohol or other substances. They think by masking their pain for just a bit, they’ll be happier but what they do not realize is that these substances will eventually have tremendous consequences and/or side effects of their bodies. Sadly, I have seen a lot of people go down this path and too many of them meet a sad end before they find their victory.

While I have never tried to drown my sorrows or mask my pain in a bottle of alcohol or with medication, I have looked other places for help or for validation. Usually, it was with different people as I thought having the comfort and support of another soul was enough. For a short time, it was but then the luster of this wore off. Normally, from my experience, I was left more lost and broken than I was beforehand. This made me even more confused and wondering exactly what it was I was to do in this life. Yes, a very deep question that we all ask ourselves at one point or another.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

—Proverbs 3:5-6

For me, there are different conditions and/or side effects of those conditions that I suffer from and none of which I can change. There are things I can do to make it less difficult but there is nothing that I can do to actually change the fact that I have these conditions. This is something that I struggled with for a long time but I hated the fact that these conditions were a part of my life.

There have been multiple times when I simply asked God, “why”? Easy enough but the why, well, that’s something that is difficult to come to grips with because we all have our idea or perspective of what we consider normal and if something does not match this picture, something must be wrong and for a long time, I thought something was wrong with me.

Most people who go through a battle with an addiction or have something about them that they cannot change go down this same road. This is human nature as most of us, maybe even all of us at one point, think we would be happier as someone else or with this or that. The truth is, though, until we come to grips with who we are in this life and that we are made for a particular purpose but the most high God, we are never going to have peace. Peace with always elude us regardless of what we do or how we fill the voids inside us.

This is not something that is exempt from Christians as we are just as vulnerable as anyone else which is why we must not allow our emotions to lead us as our emotions can easily be deceived. There has been more than one occasion when I had a pretty face play my heart the heart the wrong way and this was a lesson that took different times to occur before I learned the lesson but we are not going to have peace until we accept who we are and come to grips with Christ.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

—Colossians 2:10

Even though we will all have difficulties in our lives and there is no way to change this, we can rest assured that Christ is always there for us. He is probably the only person in our lives that will never leave us or forsake us. There have been several people over the course of my short life that I considered to be really sincere and true but eventually, most of them showed me their true colors. They were not who they claimed to be and while, later, it was easy to see them for who they were, I could not see it at that particular point in time.

Sometimes, the best lessons in life are learned the hardest of ways and, I believe, that this has to be done to wake us up. Often times, we’re too stubborn to see what’s right in front of us and obvious to others but it’s not about being right all the time but rather, learning from the mistakes that you do make and allowing Christ to clean up the rest as in Christ is where our peace is truly found.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

—Romans 8:28