Symptoms of Inner Peace
7.10.23 Symptoms of Inner Peace
One of the great gifts of the journey of following Jesus is the emergence in us of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) as step by step we give up one issue after another that stands between us and God. The qualities that we most long for, I believe, are peace and love, but today I am just writing about peace, next week, love. Our self-image is full of fear and doubt about ourselves, because we have been living a life that is not really ours as we try so hard to conform to our culture and to what our families want for us. But we seldom look below the surface of our lives to the depths of our being which would reveal so much of who we really are.
So, as we step out on this journey of asking God to heal what stands between us and God, we begin to feel that peace emerging in us. It is not that we are never thrown by what happens to us, but it becomes easier and easier to deal with the challenges as we see that God is by our side supporting us, loving us, directing our lives, helping us cope with the challenges, and so much more every day. The blessings add up for us as the love and presence of God in our lives. And the challenges, all those things that we never wanted in our lives, turn out to bring us lessons to learn that will really advance us in our task of loving God and our neighbors and ourselves. If we can come to accept these challenges into our lives as lessons to be learned, then we have dropped our resistance and have come to understand the true nature of this journey which converts us from a person enslaved to this world and all it wants for us to an individual who lives in love and grace, able to pass on God’s love to everyone we meet.
First, there is the relaxation that we feel as the burdens, one by one, are healed by God (Matthew 11:28-30). Each issue that we offer up has been a weight that we have carried—hidden from ourselves as well as others. It carries with it shame, fear, frustration, and more. So, each healing lifts from us the necessity of hiding the things about ourselves that bother us. Then, there is the lightness we begin to heal from carrying this stuff no longer. And more, there is the opening up of energy that used to be used up in hiding our true selves, now comes a wave of interest in new things/ideas/directions/stuff to ponder.
A call to our purpose will arise in us at some point. A call will come to us to help those who have been through experiences that echo our own, like my call to be a spiritual director and a writer about the spiritual life in Christ which is the perfect outcome of the healing I’ve experienced about the hell-fire-and-damnation church I grew up in. The 11 years in that church weighed heavily on me for years after I grew up. But the Lord did heal those issues in me, the very negative image of God and the condemnation of me. And now I help people to draw closer to the loving God of my faith now.
The fulfillment of our life, our purpose, brings so much peace, not just from the healing of that underlying issue, but also in seeing your life really count for something beyond yourself. To know that you are helping other people gives us a sense of contentment after coming full circle on a deep issue within us.
It’s an amazing journey and there’s that feeling of peace from understanding how God works through our journey with Jesus is tremendous. Here is how author, Saskia Davis, writes about the symptoms of inner peace:
“Be on the lookout for symptoms of inner peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to Inner peace, and it is possible that people everywhere could come down with it in epidemic proportions. This could pose a serious threat to what has, up to now, been a fairly stable condition of conflict in the world.
Some signs of inner peace:
“A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experience.
An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
A loss of interest in judging other people.
A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
A loss of interest in conflict and in being angry.
A loss of the ability to worry (a very serious symptom).
Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
Contented feelings of being connected with others and with nature.
Frequent attacks of smiling.
An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make things happen.
An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others, as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.”[1]
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Questions to ponder over the week: Do you long for peace in your life? If you do, what would you be willing to do to achieve that sense of peace in your live? Would you be willing to follow Jesus Christ? Would dedicate your life to loving God, your neighbors, and yourself? Would you leave the world behind?
Blessing for the week: May we be the people of God who will follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads us. May we give up our issues that stand between us and God in order to be true to God.
Check out my two websites: patsaidadams.com and deepeningyourfaith.com.
Two Announcements
- I am giving away a 10-week journaling guide to Jesus’s Two Great Commandments. If you are interested, email me at patsadams@gmail.com and I will email it to you, free of charge.
- My latest books, “Called to Help the Poor and Needy” and “A Study Guide to the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount” are now in bookstores and on line. The first is about the more than 2,000 verses in the Bible which detail God’s instructions for caring for those in need. The second is a journaling/pondering guide to Jesus’s most complete sermon.
[1] https://www.symptomsofinnerpeace.net/Home.html