A Healing Peace in Problems

I felt anything but a healing peace in my problems. I was “wearied by the length of [my] way” (Is. 57:10 ESV) and I felt down, low, and weak. My frustration and anxiety over unwanted problems produced exhaustion.

No wonder I felt no peace. I needed to look away from my desperate desire for my problems to disappear. I needed to step back from everything I was taking upon myself in my hustle to fix things. 

My emotions had taken over—a clue that I was looking for rest and comfort in something other than God. I realized I’d been trying to control solutions. I’d been walking clinched, prayerless, and panicky. 

Are your emotions attacking your peace too? Let’s enter into a praise interruption together, dear friend in Christ.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry ev’rything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry ev’rything to God in prayer.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Scriven, J., 1855)

A Healing Peace

The Lord graciously reminds us who He is.

The One who is high and lifted up,
    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
 and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Is. 57:15 ESV).

We easily try to find comfort in idols, just as much as the Israelites did with their man-made statues. Our idolatries subtly take over when we want things to go smoothly, when we fight against problems we don’t want, and when we try to force things to happen according to our desires.

Could problems, inherent in this fallen world, become places of humble trust in God and His healing revival?

Do I humbly trust the One who is with me in my problems? Because I am justified through faith in Jesus and have peace with God (Rom. 5:1), Jesus is my Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6) and my friend (Jn. 15:15). I can trust Him. I needed to return to Him and trust what He was wisely doing through the problems, in order to experience His peace in the midst of the problems.

My un-peace clues me in when I need to repent of my sin and receive His cleansing, healing gift of forgiveness and restored peace. 

Healing Restoration in Repentance

He beckoned me close in the rest of Isaiah 57.  

“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him” (Is 57:18-19 ESV).

Our Jehovah Rapha healed and refreshed me. He restored comfort to my soul, reminding me of the totally finished work of my Savior, Jesus Christ. As I wait for His promised restoration of all things in the new heaven and earth, the Lord of heaven and earth is my abiding source of peace in all my current challenges, through His gracious gift of Jesus. I can trust Him.

A Healing Peace in Repentance

He gave me His supernatural peace again, a “peace which surpasses all understanding to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus” (Ph. 4:7 ESV).

My distress ceased, even though the problems still existed and I still needed to prayer-fully persist through them. But now, He had brought me to a humble place of repentance where I could “let the peace of Christ rule” (Col. 3:15 ESV).

Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—take it to the Lord in prayer!

What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Scriven, J., 1855)

My Prince of Peace lovingly encouraged me: 

Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?

In his arms he’ll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Scriven, J., 1855)

Selah (pause and calmly think of that). Amen.

Playlist of Prayer, Peace, and Praise

This week’s YouTube playlist gift is filled with songs for us to sing our prayers aloud to the Lord. We sing of our need for His cleansing, healing, and soul-restoring peace. We praise Him for the peace He continually gives us through the person and work of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Friend.

Will you join me in the journey? Just sign up for the email below! I am praying His peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus this week as we sing His truth and, by it, remember and experience the Lord’s promise:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you (Is. 26:3 ESV). 

First Name

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you’re human: