“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!” Psalm 29:10-11
This month the theme of peace has been on my mind and heart. There have been times I’ve been anxious as I considered all the things I can’t do in my own strength—but that seem to be on my to-do list—knowing that though I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, some of them I don’t actually want to have to do or deal with!
In these verses from Psalm 29, there seems to be a connection between the Kingship of God and peace in our lives. In other words, our peace is a response to His Kingship in our lives and in our heart.
Hang with me for a second on this.
First, Jesus is called our Prince of Peace. What is the connection?
I believe when we recognize in our hearts and minds and submit to the Sovereignty of the Lord—His power and authority in our lives—we can relax, knowing that we are in the hands of our Loving God.
We can submit our burdens to Him. We can carry our crosses. We can let go of trying to get it done ourselves and rest more in His timing and guidance though it be one instruction at a time.
Sometimes I think I pray and ask God, and then I still want it figured out and to have the control to manage things. I’ve asked God, but haven’t relaxed enough to let go and trust the King to oversee the details. I haven't yet rested in His authority over situations.
Another verse that came to mind has to do with peace of another kind, but it’s not totally unrelated:
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:15
This verse is in the context of relationships. When we trust our Prince of Peace—who loves our neighbors more than we do—and when we trust His Kingship over both us and them, we can trust that God will help us to handle our conflict. His peace ought to rule us—our hearts and those wily emotions.
There’s an idea of submission here. We ought to be submitted to Jesus, our Prince of Peace. We need to trust His Kingship in our lives and also in the world, and to submit ourselves—present and cast our burdens—let His peace guard us (Philippians 4:7). And let our hearts be submitted to His peace while we seek His guidance in navigating relationships in our lives.
At the end of all this meditating, I’ve been asking myself when I feel anxiety creeping in, am I presenting my burdens to the Lord? If so, am I trusting and submitting to His Kingship and am I ready to wait for His response? Am I willing to let His peace rule my emotions?
I hope these are encouraging questions for you. They help me evaluate my own mind and heart and help me to choose to turn my eyes and ears to the Lord and to “be still to know that He is God.”
Many blessings to you as you head into this new month,
Janine Alvarado, CCEA Missionary to Japan