It’s been over two weeks since our Super Bowl letdown, and hopefully we’ve moved on. The day after was tough, wasn’t it?
One lady, describing her office on that Monday morning, said “It was like a funeral today … Everyone was gloomy …”
Another lifelong Falcons fan said, “I am just numb.” (www.myajc.com, 2/6/17, “The fan’s long lament: Once again, the Falcons lead us off a cliff”).
If only the Falcons had run the ball, and then kicked a field goal …
I’m so glad that my peace is not based on the performance of a professional sports team in this town, aren’t you? Peace seems to be a rare commodity these days.
I read about a man seriously injured after being hit by droppings from a bird sitting on a lamppost above. How was he injured? After the splat, he began shaking the lamppost in anger, and the loosened globe dropped on his head.
People are uptight, especially on the roads. Last July, a study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported that nearly 80 percent of drivers expressed significant anger, aggression or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the past year.
Approximately eight million drivers engaged in extreme examples of road rage, including purposefully ramming another vehicle or getting out of the car to confront another driver.
Others admitted to tailgating, yelling at another driver, honking to show anger, making angry gestures, trying to block another driver from changing lanes, or cutting off another vehicle on purpose.
Jurek Grabowski of AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said, “Far too many drivers are losing themselves in the heat of the moment and lashing out …” (www.newsroom.aaa.com/2016/07).
We could use a little peace in our stressed-out lives. We often think of peace as the absence of conflict or the elimination of turmoil, but Biblical peace is not related to circumstances. Peace in the Bible is a quality of life and a state of heart, a goodness of life untouched by external factors.
On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27).
The NLT reads, “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart.”
People look for peace, but it eludes them because they look in the wrong places. Jesus said you don’t find peace. You receive peace when you receive Him.
When the storms rage, the traffic snarls, the bills pile up, the pace keeps increasing and our crises intensify, where do we turn and where do we focus? Perfect peace comes from a perfect peace-giver, and the only perfect peace-giver is God. So we must come to Him and focus on Him.
Long ago, an art enthusiast announced a contest to portray the perfect picture of peace. Numerous artists took him up on the challenge, and the day came to present their works.
Painting after painting was unveiled until finally two were left. The judge pulled the cover from the first, and a hush fell over the onlookers. A mirror-smooth lake reflected leafy green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this beautiful painting was the winner.
Suspense built as the cover was removed from the final entry. A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; stormy gray clouds threatened to explode with lightening, wind and rain. In the midst of this representation of power and chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the pouring waters, and on it a little bird had built a nest. Content and undisturbed in the stormy surroundings, she was resting on her eggs. She manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
That’s a picture of God’s peace that passes all understanding and comes only from a perfect God.
Isaiah 26:3 reads, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You.”
Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, GA. The church family meets at 352 McDonough Road, near McCurry Park, and invites you to join them for Bible study at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 10:55 a.m. Visit them online at www.mcdonoughroad.org.
