How To Have A Peace Mindset

Some encouragement from Psalm 46

There are some mornings where it feels like the world is trying to tear you apart before you even rise from bed.

An alarm doesn’t go off or you wake up with a persistent cold or a baby is crying every hour and you feel like the potential for a good day has already gone out the window.

These are the mornings I’ve been stuck in lately.

The ones that feel like a blackhole I’m constantly fighting to pull out of.

Are you fighting them too?

We know internally, perhaps intuitively, that society thrives on creating new chaos for us to participate in. It’s why we find an early morning temptation to grab our phones right away. We see notifications that bring attention to some sort of problem for us to be involved in before we’ve even taken any action for the day. (You know, like the person who commented something controversial on your post about something that shouldn’t be inviting conflict…)

But in the moments the world cries out for us to strike first, God asks us to surrender and be still.

If you’re looking for a powerful reminder for us to be removed from the world, to look up toward our salvation, and to find refuge in the unchanging character of God, then Psalm 46 is where you should turn. (I’ll post the whole psalm at the end for you to save).

Although Psalm 46 is brief (consisting of just eleven verses) it shows us the meta-narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. It shows us to look at our lives in the grand scheme of things, not just the minute by minute anxieties of our present circumstance.

BELIEF: Things should/ shouldn’t happen if I just (fill in the blank).
TRUTH: God is in control.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.

(Psalm 46:1)

God is first and foremost, the Alpha and the Omega. He is above all things, therefore, he is in control of all things, whether spiritual or physical in nature. Even if the world feels like it is on fire or crumbling around us (physically or emotionally) His kingdom is firmly established.

When we forget God is the creator of all things we place that role on ourselves. We view our world as something manipulated by our own ability. When we are not able to change the external realities around us, we are thrown into stress and hopelessness. We find ourselves wondering: why can’t we be “enough?” To view ourselves as our own deity can leave us feeling plagued by cynicism and resentment when things aren’t going our way.

There is a reason why God finally responds to Job, a man who lost everything in the Old Testament and who pleaded to understand God’s intentions, by saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? (Job 38:4). We are reminded that God is at the center for a good reason: He alone is perfect. He is everlasting, ever present, and all knowing. As much as we’ve convinced ourselves since birth that we are at the center, let us rejoice we are not!

BELIEF: Peace is only found when problems disappear
TRUTH: God is Peace

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.

(Psalm 46: 2-4)

The tumultuous waters that cause us to fear are the very waters that turn into peaceful streams leading into the City of God. He has established his creations with intention and order since the beginning and his promises for healing are woven through scripture.

What does that restoration look like?

Psalm 46 conveys a lot about God’s character and what that means for the world we live in, a world that constantly puts us on the defensive. In any circumstance, God is our refuge (verse 1) and our strength. When it feels like we are overwhelmed by every struggle of the day, He is our protection, our fortress (verse 7). He’s not promising us that every problem we have will dissipate if we want it to. He’s pointing us to the truth that our joy is complete when we abide in him (John 15:10-11).

No matter the battle.

No matter the circumstance.

God presents himself as peace with a capital “p.”

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

(1 Kings 19: 11-12)

In 1 Kings 19, the Lord appears to the prophet Elijah as the calming voice, not the chaos. In fact, as Creator he is completely in control of what we see as chaos.

Consider also the account of Jesus in the New Testament in the storms. Despite the fear of his disciples, He calmly rebukes the waves and settles the seas (Mark 35:41). In the disorder of our lives we can count on him to always be our Prince of Peace, our Sovereign in control. God wants us to call upon him like a child calls for their Father with a tender “dadda” or “abba,” which is father in Aramaic (Romans 8:15). He wants us to have a relationship that is deeply personal; for us to find comfort and stability with Him.

He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

(Psalm 46: 9-10)

Fear is natural and built in biologically to help protect us in times of danger. But when we dwell on the things we cannot control, whether that be who has political power or the outcomes of an illness, we are ignoring God’s promise for restoration.

Our worldly nations will no longer define us, for the Lord will. We don’t have to wait for this new earth to be established before we rest in this truth. When we accept Jesus as our savior, as the fulfillment of these promises, we begin a new life in Him. We are reborn into stability after a fall. We gradually, tenderly, imperfectly learn how to abide (rest) in our God instead of resting in ourselves.

The psalm begins and ends with the promise that our God is also the beginning and ending; the Alpha and Omega.

“The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”

(Psalm 46:11)

It is the perfect bookend to a complete story of God’s love. His grace is not defined by the boundaries of time or by the sins we carry. He stands firm and solid as the cornerstone in our lives. I pray you feel this security and peace when you rise in the morning and when you feel the worries of this world try to knock down your walls. Remember they cannot be moved if God is your fortress.