I need to come from a place of peace. That doesn’t mean that I’m wishy-washy. It doesn’t mean I’m uncertain. It doesn’t mean I don’t have convictions. But it means that I am willing to put myself aside and let God’s Word filter everything. Instead of trying to justify and defend, I let God guide. Sometimes he’s going to tell me to justify and defend. Other times he’s going to tell me to be still and listen—and even rearrange what I thought and presumed in order to understand him better and reflect his character better.

If we follow what we think is the prescribed method all the time, we are not letting him guide. When we set God aside and focus more on someone else we respect, even if we first began to follow the person out of respect for his or her position with and faith in God, we are not letting God guide. No one is as consistent and capable as God. It takes a lot of humility and intention to discern how God is instructing, encouraging, and correcting us. I am perplexed that we sometimes embrace what someone on earth says much more readily with much less intention to discern. We get it wrong.

But when I position myself in a place of peace, I am saying, “Here I am. Use me.” to God and God alone. I am not asking God leading questions to get what I want or even what I assume he must want. Because I don’t know his timing and methods. I can justify what I want to happen with a flippant, “Surely, God would want…” or “Surely, God would never…” Yes, there are things that are consistent (or not) with his character, but the more time we spend in his Word, the more we realize he shows up in some really surprising ways. Quite frankly, I don’t understand it all. And I’m okay with that.

My confidence in God comes from a place of peace. It comes from, “Less of me, God. More of you.” It comes from, “Even if…, God is still good.” It comes from being prepared for “such a time as this,” whether that requires my action or inaction. Service is often not grand. He weaves purpose into the mundane. And I think that is something so beautiful about God. 

My place of peace is with God. He will always guide us in ways that are consistent with his character yet quite possibly uncomfortable for us or unpredictable or unexpected. My place of peace is never static. Seeking and steeping in God’s presence is not a reclined chair on a beach. It’s not moments that are void of everything. Quite the contrary: a place of peace is very full of God’s presence.

It’s not really a place at all but a position of peace.