We took some time off recently for a vacation. Sometimes we take time off for an active vacation where we go and do things every day. Other times - as it was recently - we take time off just to relax where we don't have to go anywhere or do anything.
I had forgotten just how difficult it is just to find peace and quiet.
There is an imagine most people have about going to the beach and enjoying the waves and the breeze under a cloudless sky. That's what I had envisioned for our vacation. It was a challenge.
The very first day we walk down to the beach and we find someone was in our assigned chairs. They politely moved but not enough to where we could still hear their loud conversations. We moved.
Aaaaahhhh....finally peace and quiet right?
Funny. Just as we settled in, our ears were filled by the voice of one woman which somehow the breeze carried the sound waves from her annoying shrill of a voice.
Seriously?
When she finally left the beach with her family we settled in again.
Aaaaaahhh...peace and quiet.
Another beach visitor strolls out and sets up her equipment directly in our line of sight of the gulf when she had so many other open areas but chose to set up directly in front of us.
Why? Why is it so difficult to find peace?
Have you ever noticed how noisy our world is around us? It gets pretty crazy. I have enjoyed moments of silence but have discovered that it can be quite a challenge.
I love to find peace where the only sounds I hear are in nature. I love to hear the waves on the beach, the birds in the forest or the sounds of a water fall. That's where I feel the closest to God. Unfortunately, the enemy tries to steal that from us. He doesn't want us to have those moments of silence before God. He wants us to live in a noisy world which tunes God out.
The best way I have been able to find peace is simply to make time to pursue it. It doesn't just happen by accident. The Bible tells us that we can experience God's peace which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard our hearts and minds as we live in Christ Jesus. So, if you ask me to explain it, I can't. It isn't something we can understand; however, it is something we have to pursue. It takes an effort on our part.
While it makes it easier for me to find peace in a place like the beach, the lake or forest, peace isn't always in the place. You can go to all of these places and not find peace. Finding time to settle down and get away from the noisy world is a good way to hear what God is trying to say to you. I'm not talking about in an audible voice but in a way that speaks to our soul. There are times I have been so silent that I could hear my own heart beating. God's voice competes with the noise in our world. It isn't easy to find the time to spend with Him.
I will also say that the things that work for me may not work for you. We all have to find our own way to God. I can't do it for you or give you a list of things you can do to find that place. The only thing I can tell you that it is most important to make the effort to do it. God will meet you there and He will give you a peace that you just can't explain. There is no magic formula.
No, the recent trip we took wasn't filled with complete peace and relaxation but it was worth it when we found those brief moments. When I was growing up, our church used to have what we called "revivals" which was basically having a guest evangelist preach a sermon at our church each night. Many were "revived" spiritually from that week. I think it's good that we all find a way to "revive" ourselves spiritually. In this noisy and fast-paced world, we need it more than ever.
