I’ve recently considered the very common Christianese phrase “I feel at peace about it.” It’s been a buzzword as long as I can remember, and I have been fluent in Christianese for about the last 23 years. It’s a great way to insinuate that God has confirmed your thoughts.
The problem with the term is I’m not sure it’s entirely Biblical. While it is true that the Holy Spirit does bring us a sense of confidence and peacefulness when we do follow him, it is not always, if ever, that it comes before we follow Him. Was Jesus “at peace” with the cross while he was sweating blood at Gethsemane? I don’t think so.
I got to thinking about it and realized I feel all kinds of feelings when I do what I believe God wants me to do, but peace is seldom one of them. In fact, I doubt “feeling at peace” goes real well with faith at all. Faith is about ignoring feelings… at least those at the level of comfort, at the level where most aspects of “feeling at peace” lives. Making decisions despite those feelings, not because of them. That is faith.
So where does that leave us? Well, I kinda like doing things because they are the right thing to do, regardless of how I feel about it, regardless of how much peace I feel or lack thereof. It makes for an interesting ride. I certainly don’t think that we should randomly do whatever doesn’t “feel” peaceful, but peace is a terrible gauge for a person who wants to live a life of faith. Turmoil proceeds all kinds of God ordained leaps of faith, Gethsemane being a great example.
When you need to make a decision consider the things that do NOT come from God. Fear is not of God, so while you may feel fear, which is quite the opposite of peace, it doesn’t mean that you should not proceed. That is not God. Manipulation and deception is not of God. Laziness is not an attribute often associated with God. Boredom, vain ambition, pride, malice, oh there are so many things that are not of God. However, feeling these things is part of the process of making decisions. Just cause they aren’t God doesn’t mean you won’t experience them. In fact, they are fantastic guides. The minions of hell make their will known loud and clear. It’s the Holy Spirit that is quiet, calm, and gentle.
Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. However, when it comes from the Spirit it comes despite all of the above. All of the above are still there, and I would go so far to say that when it comes FROM the Holy Spirit it’s not merely something that we feel. Instead it’s something that we accept, and choose to be. Sounds superficial, but it has to be. Our flesh is terribly flawed, and the Bible is clear that the flesh goes contrary to the Spirit. So that Peace that is the fruit of the Spirit is not a feeling, it is a decision. Like so many other fruits, it is a decision to allow The Spirit to lead us.
So next time you feel “at peace” about something, I suggest you look carefully for fear, for laziness, for pride & arrogance, be honest and rebuke deception. A Buddhist monk can light themselves on fire, experience great pain, and be “at peace” throughout the entire ordeal. That doesn’t make it God’s will. God’s will is wonderfully mysterious. We only discover it through relationship with Him. Exercising the flesh, or the mind, even conquering them, does not equate to being God. It doesn’t even equate to knowing God. Discipline can be very important to the process but priority one needs to be precisely what God says: “if you seek me, you will find me, when you seek with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
The trouble comes when you rely on feelings alone, or the absence of them. I’m not saying to only act or not act based on feelings, I’m just saying there’s a place for them. And actually, feeling God’s peace, is more like an absence of emotions, as there’s no tension, also no elation, but just a state of rest and agreement in your soul.
I completely agree that emotions can be anti-Christ-like, and when a worship session or message is based on the feelings stirred up or not, that’s not the point. When feeling something about God in relation to God’s character and promises, not just “this makes me feel good and God wants me to be happy, so…” then they’re right. And I must add, an absence of feelings does not mean anything’s changed, obedience and faith should be consistent, but when you are close to God and pursing Him I believe your soul comes alive, and there are many appropriate God-given feelings to be experienced, as well as when distance comes or you’ve turned from God. But always in context of who God is. Also, it’s not right to become reliant on the emotional response, or where is faith when the emotions fade, as they often do, or how could God bring renewal? In desert times there will not be elation, and we must trust in and rely on God anyway, and in this absence of emotion, our actions and beliefs should not sway.
yes Katy, if you consider knowing God is in control and peace comes from that then it’s right on. The thing faith comes despite our emotions not because of them. I’ve heard the phrase a lot, and many similar ones, usually tied to the speaker’s emotional “feelings”. That’s the version I think is anti-Christ-like.
I think when people use this term, at least when I do, they mean exactly what you said when you quoted Jeremiah 29:13 “if you seek me, you will find me, when you seek with all your heart.” Even at times of extreme stress or turmoil, if you have sought and found God, that is true peace. I think of this peace of learning God’s will in the context of having fought a battle against yourself and God in determining for sure what God’s will would be. Once you find it, even if a hard road, it’s peace that you have heard from your maker, and that the battle is over. What’s ahead is to be done with God, and that brings peace, but the wrestling with God is the difficult part. Nothing done by man can take away the gift that God gives in His love, but separation from God is more torture than man can give. That is why I think true “peace” in God can be achieved despite trouble in this world. Psalm 85:10 says, “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” If you are walking in ways of rightneousness, even in the midst of war, you have true peace, have you not? I know when I’m sure I’m in God’s will, the things like fear etc. are still there, but if I keep my focus which I can only do with God’s help, then by His grace I can feel His peace and want that more than relief from the fear that I could have by running from the situation. Being separated from God by running is more a burden than enduring what may come by following His will.
I’m not saying that it’s easy to walk willingly into a situation of discomfort and burden, it takes a lot of obedience and discipline, but if you truly “feel God’s peace” about it, you can endure what you couldn’t alone. Maybe it’s just a modern Christianese term that also means faith? Having faith that God will sustain you on a certain path is in my mind the same as having God’s peace that it is the right path.
As far as feelings, God created those for us, and I believe intended us to experience life with full emotion, both positive and negative. We need to seek Him in order to balance how much to follow our feelings, but they are there for a purpose. We need to be able to fully experience the joy of God, as well as the suffering that comes from self-denial for God’s purposes, and without those feelings there would be no concept purpose in the sacrifice.