The Peace of Christ

“How are you today?” Like many of you, I hear this question many times a day.

The expected response to this question when I was growing up was, “I’m fine, thank you.” Now, most of my students in California simply say, “I’m good.” (Let the record show that I have never really appreciated this bit of slang; I find Jesus’s words ringing in my ears, “No one is good except God alone.”)

But sometimes when I’m asked, “How are you?” I don’t feel like replying with the standard “I’m fine” or “I’m good.” That’s because I’m not always fine. (I’m certainly not always good!). This does not mean, however, that things at that moment are bad in my life, simply that…it’s complicated.

I’m writing these words while waiting in an auto shop—an hour longer than promised—for a simple oil change. A talk-show host on the television in the corner is discussing in horrifying detail some recent assaults of a serial killer. “How are you, Ken?”

Well, on the one hand, I’m unhappy that I have been sitting here for the past two hours. I feel the urge to get home to a family member who is concerned about and preparing for a medical procedure scheduled for tomorrow morning. I also wish that lightening would strike the power lines outside the car shop and send an electrical surge to fry the television set. At the same moment, I’m at peace in my soul, trusting in the Lord, open-hearted, and praying my way through this time of waiting—even as I write these few words to you.

Is it possible to be sad and happy at the same time? Can a Christian grieve and still hope? Can a follower of Jesus experience sorrow and peace together? Yes indeed. One of the great benefits of the in-Christ life is a foundational peace that undergirds and surrounds us even when our surface emotions are turbulent. Paul describes his own life as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Cor 6:10). In one of his letters, he expresses “great sorrow and unceasing anguish” in his heart over the unbelief of his countrymen (Rom 9:2-3), whereas elsewhere he instructs us to rejoice always (Phil 4:4), and then a few verses later promises that when we bring our anxieties to the Lord in prayer that God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7).

But what about during times of profound loss, like grief over the death of a loved one? Yes, then too. Paul writes to those in Thessalonica who had lost loved ones to death: “that you may not grieve as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Please don’t misunderstand. Christians still grieve, sometimes deeply. But our grief is different from those who are outside of Christ. We grieve with hope.

Solid peace is a real thing because it isn’t dependent upon our presenting emotions. For those who truly know Christ, such peace is rooted in their inChristness. What God calls us to do, then, is to rest in the truth of our union with Christ, ask for the Holy Spirit to mediate that truth to us, and allow the peace of Christ to rule in our hearts, both individually and corporately (Col 3:15).

Fortunately, the television host has now switched away from her piece about serial killing and has begun to discuss the recent public embarrassments of a popular social butterfly. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for my car. But I am also thankful that I am ungirded and surrounded by the peace of Christ.

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“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body” (Col 3:15)

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7)

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This post was adapted from devotional #62 in How to Live an ‘In Christ’ Life: 100 Devotional Readings on Union with Christ.