All-surpassing peace

A few weeks after I arrived in Guatemala, I found myself feeling frustrated and a little overwhelmed.  At that point I was still taking 4 hours of Spanish a day, and that particular week I had learned about 200 verbs—my roommate told me I was conjugating verbs out loud in my sleep, and I’m not surprised.  I was still getting adjusted to living with the host family—with three delightful, adorable, energetic, and loud children, and taking statistics and history.  I have a science mind, and I don’t remember any history unless I study a lot, and I have a hard time staying motivated.   I think I was in pre-test mode, trying not to think about how much history I didn't know as I tidied my messy room and listened to the kids play and laugh and cry, all the while watching my door so the ever-curious 1-year-old Maria wouldn’t come in and taste my earbuds, rearrange the things on my nightstand or attempt to write a book on my laptop.

All of a sudden I found myself wondering if maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle a life in the mission field overseas.  If I was feeling this unsettled with noisy kids and a messy room, how would I ever be able to deal with the chaos and unexpected adventures and mishaps that are bound to show up when working in a third world country?  I’ve wanted to go into international missions for a long time, and while I certainly was not set on this idea, I had always thought I would be great at living in a third world country and taking everything in stride.  Why was I feeling so unsettled?

I’m an adaptable and flexible person, and I really do feel at home quickly in new places, especially because my God is the same everywhere I go.  And then I realized, my God is the same everywhere I go.

And so is His peace.

I don’t need to be in my dorm in Michigan or at home or at Cannon Beach or anywhere else.  It doesn’t matter how loud or quiet my surroundings are.  It doesn’t make a difference whether or not there’s hot water, or pressure, or parasites.  The peace of God passes all understanding, and when He calls someone to work in a challenging area (like a third world country) He gives them the strength and the peace they need if they just confide in Him.  In Ephesians it says that Christ Himself is our peace.  Jesus promised us His peace in John 14 and told us not to let our hearts be troubled.  Paul instructs us in Colossians to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, since we were called to peace as members of His body.

Philippians 4:6-7 says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

After God reminded me of His promises, I was filled with His unconditional peace.  My circumstances don’t need to change for the fruits of the Spirit to manifest in my life.