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"Why can you stay so calm?" – Have you ever been asked this question? People tend to get worked up quickly. But if you can remain calm in critical situations, you'll stand out from the crowd. In this article, you'll learn about the causes and effects of inner peace.
There was a situation in my childhood that I still remember vividly. It was Sunday morning, and I didn't feel like going to church. I listlessly entered our church building and saw that Brother Jakob Wiebe was visiting us. The atmosphere surrounding him radiated an incredible peace, so much so that my bad mood vanished, and I began to feel joyful. To me, Brother Jakob Wiebe was a person with peace in his heart, which is not something to be taken for granted. In the Bible, we find several people in whom the peace of God clearly dwelt in their hearts.
Moses – The humblest man on earth
A wonderful example is Moses. God led his people Israel out of Egypt. They could clearly see God's work. Nevertheless, the people of Israel repeatedly grumbled against the Lord and Moses.
When Moses received the two tablets of the testimony on Mount Sinai, the people worshiped the golden calf. We can then see God's response: " The Lord said to Moses, 'I have seen this people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked people. Now leave me alone, so that my anger may burn against them and I may destroy them. But I will make you into a great nation .'" (Exodus 32:9-10)
Isn't that a tempting offer? Moses had already endured much with the people, constantly accompanied by their grumbling. Finally, he wouldn't have to put up with them anymore and could experience a new beginning. But no, that's not Moses! Quite the opposite: " But Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, saying, 'Why, Lord, is your anger burning against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? (...) Refrain from the burning anger of yours and relent from the disaster you are about to bring on your people! (...) Then the Lord relented from the disaster he had said he would bring on his people. '" (Exodus 32:11-14)
Moses' deep inner peace is evident in his reaction to God's threatened judgment. Anyone without peace in their heart would have longed for God's judgment. God sees Moses' heart, the peace within, and his readiness to carry the people of Israel forward. Consequently, the Lord relents from the disaster he had previously threatened.
Moses truly had to carry the people onward. Perhaps one might think that Moses later regretted interceding for the people of Israel. But even when the people murmured again and threatened stoning after the twelve spies returned from the land of Canaan, Moses stood in the rift between God and the people of Israel, thus once again preventing their annihilation. (Numbers 14:17-20)
So, despite his long and arduous service, Moses had not lost his inner peace. In particular, he was still willing to bear the burdens of the people, so that God might show mercy. But what was the source of Moses' inner peace?
The cause of peace in Moses
The source of peace lies in Moses' character. His character is marked by profound humility and gentleness. This is particularly evident in the scripture: " Now Moses was very humble, more than any man on the face of the earth ." (Numbers 12:3)
Moses lived in constant communion with God, so that through this constant closeness he was filled with God's peace. This closeness is clearly shown in Exodus 33:11. There it is written that Moses spoke with the Lord face to face, as a man talks with his friend.
How wonderful it is when we can learn to truly speak to God like a friend!
This enabled Moses to develop a steadfast heart. Through a steadfast heart, we can maintain peace: “ You keep peace to a steadfast heart, because it trusts in you .” (Isaiah 26:3 / Schlachter 2000)
The impact of Moses' inner peace on others
Although the people of Israel often grumbled, they could not do without Moses. They understood that he had a genuine relationship with the Lord, which makes him one of the greatest leaders of the people of Israel in history. But surely the greatest consequence of his inner peace is that God was able to use him for the people of Israel because of it. A person without peace in their heart could never have accomplished this tremendous and difficult task.
Another example where we can clearly see the effect of inner peace can be found in the New Testament.
Paul and Silas – preserving peace even in impossible situations
Paul and Silas were on a missionary journey and came to the city of Philippi. There, they were persecuted and imprisoned because of preaching the gospel and because of false witnesses. Actually, Paul and Silas had every reason to be upset. After all, they had served God and proclaimed the gospel, and now they had even been persecuted and imprisoned against the law.
How would you act in such a situation? Would you perhaps blame God and ask why?
Paul and Silas, however, were different: “ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ” (Acts 16:25) What a reaction! This reaction clearly shows that peace dwelt in the hearts of Paul and Silas! But what was the source of this peace between them?
The cause of peace in Paul and Silas
Paul and Silas were both filled with the Holy Spirit. One of the fruits of being filled with the Holy Spirit is a deep inner peace that only the Spirit of God can bestow (Galatians 5:2). Both had also already experienced much with God. Paul himself reports in his letters that he was very often mistreated because of preaching the gospel. The experience of living with God helps one to maintain peace. Here again, the effect of a steadfast heart becomes evident. Experience and trust in God strengthen our hearts, and then God can keep peace within us.
How has your inner peace affected others?
Through Paul and Silas's prayer and hymn of praise, the other prisoners in the jail listened to them. What thoughts must have been going through their minds? There were certainly real criminals in the jail who were surely astonished that Paul and Silas could sing in prison, even though they were innocent. This gave Paul and Silas such authority that no one took the opportunity to escape after the earthquake.
The jailer was so moved by this act that he addressed Paul and Silas, although they were his prisoners, as " Sirs " (cf. Acts 16:30) and asked how he could be saved. The profound inner peace he experienced was so powerful that the jailer and his entire family became believers, and Paul and Silas were quickly released.
What can we learn from this for today?
Through the peace we see in Moses, we can learn that deep inner peace helps us understand God. Inner peace empowers us to continue fulfilling our mission, even when it seems hopeless and others would have long since given up.
Through Paul and Silas, we can learn that keeping the peace is more effective than grumbling. Had they grumbled about their situation, they probably wouldn't have been freed so quickly, and their hearts wouldn't have opened to the gospel. We can learn that it's crucial to be filled with the Holy Spirit, because otherwise we won't be able to keep the peace in critical situations.
Dear reader, perhaps we ourselves are unaware of the peaceful aura we radiate. I think Brother Jakob Wiebe didn't notice me as a child during the church service. But I immediately sensed that the peace of God dwells within this brother, and this instantly transformed my bad mood, opening my heart to God's message during the service.
I hope, dear reader, you see that in this deep peace lies a tremendous power, and that we possess this peace when we are in communion with God.
Stefan Bloch, Municipality of Bielefeld
Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are taken from the Elberfeld Bible translation.