A Calming Peace

I've been on a journey with 1 Peter for about a year now. I'm growing quite fond of the old boy. He wrote to a group of people in the midst of growing persecution - suffering for Jesus (something very few Western Christians have any grasp of - to me, suffering means I have to drive a car with 118,000 miles on it instead of a new Mercedes). Anyway, I'm not looking for trouble, it will come soon enough, but the more we talk about the coming chaos of tribulation, the more agitated and even fearful people become. I've even heard that some folks are going to the IHOP healing rooms for consolation and comfort as their fears grow. But that's not what I was talking about - back to 1 Peter. In my growing relationship with Peter's first letter, I have been meditating on 5:10.

"May the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you."

Appartenly, those who study the end times were not the only ones in need of a word of encouragement. The folks of Peter's day needed a calming peace, too. I love those four verbs at the end.

• May God perfect you - complete - finish the work He started in you.
• May God establish you - fix you in place - give you a firm foundation that will not be shaken when he begins to shake everything that can be shaken.
• May God strengthen you - give you the ability to lift the heaviest of burdens.
• May God settle you - calm you down when your heart is racing with fear and anxiety is about to drive you wild.

I get the picture of a child that has just been frightened by a mean dog, scooped up in his daddy's arms, as his daddy strokes his hair and quietly says, "Shhhhhhh -- it will be ok. I've got you now. Nothing can get to you now. Shhhhhhhh." And then He begins to sing softly.

We need a dose of that these days. My prayer, for all those that are experiencing a growing sense of anxiety is that the God of grace will settle you.