I tend to idealize life before the modern age. Life seemed so simple then – wouldn’t it have been so peaceful living in a small village, walking everywhere, working with your wife and kids, going to church with the people in your village, only having to keep track of news and updates from the people who lived within walking distance? (Yes, I realize they had their own problems – like famine, disease, and war!)
Now life seems so complicated. We have to worry about our own family and friends AND every local, national, and international news story we come across! News updates, social media feeds, commentary from people we went to high school with but haven’t talked to for 20 years.
It is so easy to lay in bed and feel anxious: social media influences on youth, this week’s mass shooting, bombings in the Middle East, global poverty, political corruption and hypocrisy, false gender ideology sweeping the nation, crime and drugs in our cities…on and on it goes.
Information overload. Anger, fear, sorrow, frustration, apathy. Sometimes it feels like the Internet will make you crazy.
How can we find peace in this age where God has placed us? Should we just unplug and ignore the suffering world around us? Hear the words of the prophet Isaiah, and let the Lord guide you in the path of perfect peace:
“‘You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock. For he has humbled the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.’ The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you. For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.” | Isaiah 26:3-9
Perfect peace comes to the one whose mind is stayed on God! This means we depend on God and fix our thoughts on him. Peace comes when we trust in the Lord, our everlasting Rock! God humbles the arrogant, but the pathway of those who are righteous is flat and level. If you desire perfect peace in your heart, cry out, “Lord, I wait for you. The glory of your name is the desire of my soul. At night my soul yearns for you, my spirit seeks you with all that I have. Only from your judgments will we learn what is righteous.”
Of course that is easier said than done. How do we actually keep our mind stayed on the Lord? How do we rest in him, trust in him, and find his perfect peace? Consider some practical advice:
- Acknowledge and confess your anxiety to God. You can’t rest in God unless you admit to him what is consuming you instead. What are you looking to instead of God himself – Internet stories, political commentary, current events, social trends, local gossip? Confess to him how this is stealing your peace. Confess to God how you have failed to center your life on the One Necessary Thing of giving your full attention to Jesus.
- Meditate on God’s Word and trust him. Tell God you trust him, and ask him for strength to trust him where you don’t. Remember that Jesus said worrying accomplishes nothing – it cannot add a single hour to your life (Matt. 6:27). Ask the Holy Spirit for the ability to earnestly seek him. Soak your heart in the Word of God. Pray through Isaiah 26:3-9, and ask God for his perfect peace. Pray through Psalm 131, and ask him to quiet your soul and bring rest to your soul.
- Pray about what is making you flustered and anxious. Name the specific things you are worried about. Write down what is making you afraid and overwhelmed. And then humble yourself before God, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). Don’t just pray for your own peace, intercede for the people in your life – and the national or global issues – that weigh on your heart. God hears and God moves through our prayers.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” | Philippians 4:4-7
- Stay informed, but don’t get consumed. News stories put us on information overload. The wicked Internet algorithm floods our social media feed with the same drama over and over again. (I say “wicked” because while an algorithm isn’t evil in itself, the way it is used to stir fear, build one-sided positions, radicalize convictions, and drain peace ought to be condemned.) We have become consumed with tragic news, negative commentary, and pessimistic outlooks. Filling your mind only with what an algorithm shows you distorts your perspective. It is suffocating.
It is important for Christians to stay informed about current events and social issues; we should not be oblivious. We are called to be in the world but not of the world (Jn. 17:14-19). Set time limits on news and social media apps. Turn off notifications. Set boundaries for yourself like you do for your kids.
- Put your phone down and pursue healthy habits. Go touch some grass. Put your phone down and go take a walk. Talk to your neighbor. Engage with real people – those you agree with and (more importantly!) those you disagree with. You may find they are more like you than you realize. Pray, worship, sing. Read God’s Word to realign your perspective. Read a book or article about the positive things God is doing in the world. Put your phone away at least an hour before you go to bed and don’t pick it up for least an hour after you wake up. Practice healthy habits of prayer, rest, silence, solitude, friendship, recreation, exercise, and sleep (for more on these habits, read here, here, and here).
Remember, God is at work in the world. Jesus is still King. He is building his Church. The Gospel is going out. Trust God to lead you in the path of perfect peace. Put your hope in the power and love of God.
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