Have You Lost Your Peace?
Medical mayhem is something I know personally. It has “moved my cheese”, made me “lose it”, and even at times wished God would just end it (it being me).
Are you there?
Maybe your grown daughter has suffered a sudden disabling catastrophic health issue. You, your husband along with other members of the family come alongside her husband and the children to care for them, the house, and get her to her doctor’s appointments and physical therapy. Six month later you find yourself hearing the words – “you have cancer” and you scream “NOT NOW!” And if it is cancer who will care for your parent?
Or maybe you are the primary caregiver for your aging parent when a suspicious mass is found on your mammogram. The radiology center says you can wait 6 months but they give you the name of an breast oncologist and surgeon. Do you wait 6 months, or do you go to the oncologist or straight to the surgeon?
The destruction of peace unfolds in a myriad of instances and they all can lead us to a very dark and lonely place.
How to hold on to peace?
I don’t know about you but I can lose peace in a matter of seconds. So I found myself hanging on the pastor’s every word when he spoke about how the bible tells us how to find peace.
Webster’s dictionary defines peace as “the freedom from disturbance, tranquility”. Yeah, there is no tranquility when you are in the midst of medical mayhem but there is a whole lot of anxiety.
And the anxiety is created from not knowing, fear of what could happen, and the need to be in control of our own fate.
There are three things in life that destroy our peace.
First is the expectation of the world, telling us that enough is not enough, that we are worthless if we don’t have all that we are told we want, and that achieving this end justifies the means to get it. To top it off, we must keep our faith and beliefs separate from our lives because they have no place in our secular world.
The second is our flesh. We have an innate drive or desire to be in control, to be our own god. It is also our own self which tells us we are not good enough, that we should have whatever we want even to the detriment of others.
The third destruction of peace is the devil who loves the world we live in because it is his playground and it is so easy to prey on our weaknesses. The devil uses the world and our flesh for his gain and then uses our failings against us to further separate us from God.
But my fellow survivor and thriver of medical mayhem – we have a mighty God who through his words empowers us on how to keep peace.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.
The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” — Philippians 4:4-9 ESV
Here are four things we CAN do.
“Let your reasonableness be known to God.” Have realistic expectations. We cannot withdraw from this world, or think we must increase our willpower or become hyper-religious to have peace. Instead, we must surrender ourselves and place the control squarely on God.
“…by prayer and supplication…” Be in constant prayer and supplication (making your thoughts known to God)
“…with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Give thanks with whatever God does, including your suffering.
Webster’s dictionary may define peace “as freedom from disturbance” but our faith defines peace as the confidence in God’s wise control of our life. And God is bigger than the World, us, and the devil.
When your circumstances seem to say God does not care and your peace lays shattered in shards around you; think about Jesus Christ at his death. God’s love for us is so great that He gave His only son to die on the Cross so that we might be with Him for eternity (John 3:16). No matter what medical mayhem is going on in your life right now, nothing can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:31-39).
And that, my fellow warrior, is peace.
Thank you for reading my post. If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it. Feel free to comment here or even re-blog – may these words take flight!
Christmas is coming and with it is the exchange of gifts for those we love. I can’t think of a better gift to give then one that will bring peace to someone who is facing medical mayhem either themselves or someone they know. Get a copy of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts. To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com .
Blessings for Health & Wellness.