Peace Like a River

Now, if you grew up in or even around church at all you'll be familiar with the little ditty we all sang in children's church...

I've got peace like a river

I've got peace like a river

I've got peace like a river in my soul...

Sang that song about a gajillion times.  Seriously.  But I had no idea that the verse was actually tied to scripture.  Thank God for Beth Moore and the countless hours the woman spends studying the Bible.

If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.  Isaiah 48:18

This is a new picture for me.  I heard countless sermons as a child about peace.

"Peace is like a tree in a storm.  The winds blow and though the branches sway, bend and even break at times, but the trunk of that tree WILL NOT MOVE."

I don't want to discount this picture.  It's a good one.  I have tapped into that imagery many a time, through many a storm.

But this river picture resonates deeply with me.  

A river is constantly moving.  Sometimes the current is swift and sometimes it's slow; sometimes it's a steady current and sometimes the rapids can be rather frightening.  

But a river also has boundaries - its banks.  And a river has direction - a path.  

This picture challenges my understanding of peace.  I've always thought peace was conditional.  

On my circumstances.  On my schedule.  On my state of mind.  

But if peace is like a river and the conditions of a river change ALL THE TIME, then the peace is not relative to the conditions of the river.  It is peaceful because it is a river and it because it is submitted to the creation and direction of God.  

My theme for this year is "Choose Peace."  

My life is NOT peaceful.  I am a busy woman.  I HAVE FOUR CHILDREN.  Enough said.

Beyond the day to day "busyness" of my life, there are many other factors that rob me of peace.  Little triggers that can so easily send me into a place of anxiety, unhappiness, discontentment.

A disagreement with my husband.

A disobedient child.  (Both of these, by the way, tend to lead me into false thinking that I am a failure as a wife and a mother.)

A simple mistake or oversight on my part.

The knowledge that someone isn't happy with me - for whatever reason.

And more dangerous are the painful memories from my past that pop up unexpectedly - they can take my breath away at times.  I'm always surprised by the pain.  And it always threatens my peace.

So this idea that peace is like an inconstant river is freeing for me.  I have peace because I am created by the Great Creator.  I have peace because I am choosing to walk in submission to His will for my life.  I can choose peace because it is a gift from God offered freely to me - regardless of my circumstances or how I FEEL at any given point in my day or my life.

Let the river flow...