Psalm 29:11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

I don’t know about Hebrew, but Japanese has different terms for external peace, such as between nations, and internal peace, that is, peace of mind. The term used here is peace of mind. In the final analysis, that is what matters to each individual. It is possible, though not easy, to have peace of mind in very unpeaceful circumstances, but if you lack peace of mind you can’t enjoy life no matter how peaceful it might be. Society in general is much more focused on getting power, which this verse says God supplies to His people. However, no amount of power will bring true happiness without peace of mind, and that is certainly a gift of God. Paul certainly hit the nail on the head when he said that the peace of God transcends human understanding. (Philippians 4:7) Incidentally, in Japanese that statement too specifies peace of mind. Such peace of mind is possible only when we stop being at war with God, our Creator. That’s what it’s talking about in Romans 5:1, where it says “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace of mind is available to anyone, but only if we will accept that Jesus died for us because we needed to have our sins atoned for. The opposite of peace of mind is anxiety, and in Deuteronomy 28:65 it says that one of the consequences of rebellion against God is an anxious mind. Once again, inner peace is possible only when we stop fighting God. God will supply all the strength we need, as well as all the peace, but our focus must be on loving obedience to Him.

This is an interesting insight when I was just struggling with insomnia! At this point I am not in active conflict with God, but I have a lot of room for growth in releasing things to Him in trust. It’s not that I am consciously trying to do things my way, rather than God’s, but simply that I have trouble letting go of them. That’s why children seem to sleep so peacefully: they trust. The irony of it all in my case is that I have experienced God’s trustworthiness more times and in more ways than I could count, yet I still run things through my mind again and again, unable to release them to God. That’s not very childlike! It doesn’t matter what issues I face, none of them are impossible for God. (Luke 1:37) I need to grow in that knowledge and assurance, and lead others to do the same.

Father, thank You for this clear Word, and for the circumstances that make me open to receive it. I pray that everything about today would flow as You desire on Your schedule. I ask particularly that You keep me from being so caught up in the next thing that I fail to appreciate and enjoy right now, whatever “right now” might be. May I indeed release everything to You in all gratitude, so that Your peace will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. Thank You. Praise God!