(by Lorie Codispoti)
Do you need to "have a peace about it" before making big decisions?
I began to question my understanding of this all too familiar christian cliche' many years ago when a close friend was at odds with another on a big decision they were facing. When she asked for my thoughts I parroted the same prescription I had been given many times: “Don’t do anything until you have a peace about it.” When she replied with, “Well, both of us have peace about our opposing views; so whose peace is right?”My friend’s response was the catalyst that threw my long held understanding into a tailspin.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” (Colossians 3:15)
Have we co-opted this verse to support the idea that we must have a sense of peace about something before moving forward?
Sometimes we say things that contain a general truth, but they misrepresent what the passage is actually saying. I regret doing this myself, so I do the hard word of digging deeper into a passage to correct my own wrong thinking & interpret Scripture accurately.
What I found in this passage is that nowhere within the context is there a mandate to prioritize the need for an inner peace before making a decision. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if our goal is to seek after this kind of peace we are chasing a counterfeit - one that can lead us down the wrong road & draw our gaze away from the true Source.
I liken this counterfeit route to the one Dorothy & her friends traveled on their way to see the wizard. Everything seems fine until you realize that when the curtain is pulled back the wizard you went in search of is exposed as a fraud, & he really has nothing to offer.
God is not a fraud. His peace isn't in need of finding, because it is not lost.
Look at the context of Colossians 3:15. Paul is communicating to his audience that there is a Source of peace (quietness, rest, & wholeness). And this ruling peace that will guard their hearts & minds will be evident as they are united in Christ. God knew what kind of hardships these new believers faced as they purposed to advanced the Gospel, so He promised a corporate peace that would exceed anything they could possibly find within themselves. A peace that went beyond anything they could manufacture on their own in the topsy turvy world they lived in. Pretty sure that they did not hold back on sharing the Gospel until they “had a peace about it.”
Maybe we need to shift our decision making paradigm from one that demands feeling peace to one that anticipates a fight.
“The New Testament writers described the daily Christian life in battle terminology. Therefore, having a peace about decisions in life could be a bad thing. When it comes to biblical decision-making, you may need to have a war about it. Biblically speaking, we are likely more in line with God’s will if we say, “I’m having a fight about it,” rather than, “I’m having a peace about it.” (Decision Making And ‘I Have A Peace About It’ - article by Eric Davis)
My husband recently preached on the armor of God in Ephesians 6. My attention locked in on the peace shoes that enable us to move forward with the Gospel of Christ.
We all have our favorite shoes. I like for them to look nice, but the older I get the more my feet realize that aesthetics are no longer a priority. Function now trumps beauty.
When Paul talks about encasing our feet with the “gospel of peace” his audience would have immediately connected to the analogy. They were quite familiar with the armor of the Roman soldiers they encountered daily. Their shoes (sandals) were made of strong, sturdy leather, whose straps supported their ankles, inhibiting them from twisting. There were nails in the bottom that provided a sure grip, even on slippery slopes. This gave the soldier the fearless confidence he needed to traverse the higher ground of their enemy’s fortress as they penetrated their defenses with speed.
Some of us have traded in our custom designed peace shoes for the more eye-catching brands that look pretty but fail to provide the support we need to engage in the battle. We’ve chosen to gingerly skip down the clearly marked, level & more ascetically pleasing yellow-brick-road over the steep, low visibility, rocky terrain of an unknown destination.
What if God’s inner peace is calling us into a battle that requires us to move forward despite our reservations & fears? What if our peace shoes are laced up with the confidence that the One who issued them to us goes before us - not to prepare an easy road, but to reassure us that we can trust what He has supplied to take us into the unknown?
The inner peace that God has provided has not been lost & in need of finding. It’s the kind of peace that looks down at our knocking knees & says, “I see you shaking, but I’m taking you with me.” When you know that the shoes at the end of those legs have been issued to you by the Prince of Peace to preach the gospel of peace (Rms.10:14-15), you can be assured that even if chains & tribulations await us, as they did Paul, we can move forward into the enemy’s camp with the ruling peace that God provides. And, when He removes the worn out shoes from our battered & bloodied feet we will stand with the soldiers who went before us & hear the words of Isaiah echoed throughout the halls of Heaven, “How beautiful up the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!” (Isa.52:7)
Do you need a “peace about it”? Then maybe it’s time to go pick a fight. Trade in those sparkly ruby red slippers for a sturdy pair of peace shoes & make your way through the unknown to the Known. It's the only path that will take you home.
