INEXHAUSTIBLE GOD

 

In a recent episode of Abiding Together, a Christian podcast I enjoy for its practical and relatable content, Sr Miriam James posed the following: “Cultivate and control are very different.”  The subject being discussed was the cultivation of peace.  Her thesis was that in seeking peace we can easily revert to trying to control the situation we may feel is chaotic, or just plain unmanageable. And our striving to control most often yields little but personal exhaustion, because problems and challenges are the avenues through which we need to navigate to strengthen our faith, and to deepen our relationship with God.

 

Then she shared a quote from Fr. Jacques Philippe that made sense to me, and I wonder if you agree and relate:

 

“Peace does not come from an absence of problems but from the presence of God.”

 

At the core of most experiences wherein we know that God is abiding with us, we are at peace.  We feel a sense of true serenity, and are energized by our momentum as we are encouraged by His Spirit. Alternatively, and totally in contrast, is the experience of assessing a chaotic or unmanageable situation and trying to control it without prayer and thus without God, which tires and depletes and leaves us exhausted and defeated.

 

But, as another of the podcast hosts, Michelle Benzinger added, “Lord, I am exhausted. But you’re an inexhaustible God. You will revive me and you will help cultivate this peace that I need that surpasses all understanding.”

 

There is no doubt that we serve an inexhaustible God.  

When we feel broken, or lost, or confused… He is there.

When we cannot face the next moment… He is there.

When we cannot discern the next right thing… He is there.

 

Can you remember being at your wit’s end trying to resolve an important issue in your life, and praying in supplication to God for an answer?  And even if the answer was not one you would have chosen, do you remember still feeling at peace that you had an answer?

 

That, in my view, is peace.  Finding a resolution around which you can rally.  Internalizing an answer that resonates.  Catching a glimpse of a better tomorrow based on a small (or large) epiphany.  

 

Peace is one of the most sought-after, yet most elusive, goals in life.  Yet without God as a reconciler and a redeemer, we are literally on our own to find it.

 

What is your experience with creating peace in your life?  Does it seem fleeting?  Is its value worth the effort?  Can you sustain it when the next wave of chaos comes? Or do you, too, need our inexhaustible God to bring an inextinguishable peace?

 

I’ll conclude with the words of Andrew Murray, early 20th century South African Christian Pastor, on Patience in Times of Trial:

 

In these moments of trial, I will have four resolutions:

 

1. God has brought me here. Whether it’s the pit, the prison, or the palace, He has brought me here. By His will, I am in this place, and in that fact. I will rest.
2. He will keep me here in His love, and He will give me grace to behave as His child.
3. Then He will make this trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends for me to learn.
4. In His good time, He will bring me out again, how and when only He knows.

 

And so my prayer, cultivating peace in full clarity of any trial we may be facing, is this:

 

I am here,

by God’s appointment,

in his keeping,

under his training,

and for his timing.

 

May each of us cultivate and find peace in every trial, every day.