I was thinking about activity and forests today. The Bible says that God gives perfect peace to those whose mind is stayed on Him. I was thinking about forests in connection with that peace, because to me forests are almost like the perfect, earthly embodiment of peace. Unless, of course, you’re there in a wind / lightning storm. But I’m talking about walking through a lush forest with tall trees above you, the ferns beside and below you, flowers and shrubs dotted here and there, or maybe wide stands of lush blossoms, peeking through the tall trunks, small rustlings of forest creatures at times, and the call of birds from somewhere high overhead. And yet, if you think about the biology of a forest, and even more so, the microbiology and chemistry of the living things in the forest, there is a TON of activity going on there. There are furious chemical factories breaking down and reassembling proteins and huge molecules out of simple sugars and water and minerals. Cells grow, divide, change, die, move. Buds and branches, twigs and leaves, fruit and seeds sprout out, grow and mature. There are bacteria, fungi, and microbes of every description multiplying, dividing, moving, and working in every little nook and cranny. Plants and trees are moving huge volumes of water, minerals and nutrients from the soil, extracting them and moving them upward and outward to every leaf and tiny twig. Then there are the animals, from the worms and decomposers and bugs, insects, rodents, snakes, squirrels, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, birds, hawks, and on and on. Most are silent, some make those rustling noises, some are more vocal, but all busy (even if they are just watching, waiting, biding their time).
So, what’s my point? I started wondering about God’s peace in the midst of a flurry of activity, of TODO lists, and multi-tasking, of appointments and meetings and shopping and chores and … and … and wondering, “Am I abiding in God’s peace in all this?” or am I deceiving myself and just frantically doing my own will, trying to find peace and satisfaction in the multitude of my doings?
I’m not sure I know for sure (yet). But reflecting on the forest helped me, because I think I/we often have a confused picture of what “peace” really is. Peace is not the same as tranquility. Jesus was at peace with His Father always. And yet there was often furious activity around Him. He was likely often working quite actively in His carpentry shop. The press of ministry to thousands and multitudes around Him. Not to mention the Roman soldiers mocking, spitting, beating, torturing Him. And yet He had peace in all of that.
And the forest has peace as well. Every piece of that vast puzzle is in its right place; each living thing is doing what it was designed to do; responding to the innate Will of its Creator, given from the beginning. Even though marred by our sin, subject to decay and futility, yet God’s purposes remain and are being carried out, day by day.
So, what about MY life? Am I in that perfect peace of the forest, of Jesus, of being in my Father’s Will? I can’t judge by my level of activity (or not). I can’t judge by the thoughts going through my head, as I whirl around through my responsibilities. I can only judge by that still, small voice, nudging me this way and that way, guiding me, IF I’ll pay attention, into the perfect path of His Will. I can’t even judge by “success” or “failure”, because often my greatest failure will (finally) form a new piece of Jesus’ character in my flawed and broken heart, as I get up and return to Him, with fervent pleas for forgiveness and restoration.
And, so, finally, it has to be my earnest plea, and my honest and deepest faith, that only God can judge, that only He can do that work in me, that only His very life within me results in that perfect peace, because only He is the Prince of Peace.
Scriptures:
- Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
- Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
- Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
- Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.