Sabbath Devotional :: Where Can I Turn for Peace?

peace - Mormon Women for Ethical Government — .

The unrelenting turmoil I see and hear about day after day on the news takes a toll. Where is peace? Where is civility? What sources provide authentic — not “fake” — news and truth?

Technology makes it feel as though our era is unprecedented in its share of tumult. I have immediate access to every news flash and tweet. More talking heads provide both more accuracy — and more spin — than ever before, faster than ever before. I doubt previous eras were any less fraught. The news just didn’t spread as fast. There is no cooling off period, no down time to process.

It’s no wonder I am anxious, out of breath, and confused as I follow news of corruption, betrayals, scheming, power hunger, failed crops, dwindling food supplies, and more. These troubles surge everywhere, from our individual homes to international settings. As our dear sister Emma Lou Thayne — writer, poet, sage, and hymn writer — asked, “Where can I turn for peace?”

As Christ prepared his disciples to live without him on the earth, He promised them in John 14:27: Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

What kind of peace does the world provide?

As one biblical scholar put it, “The peace that earth gives is a poor affair at best. It is shallow; a very thin plating over a depth of restlessness, like some skin of turf on a volcano, where a foot below the surface sulphurous fumes roll, and hellish turbulence seethes. That is the kind of rest that the world brings.”

When angels and humans both sing and plead for “Peace on earth! Good will toward all!” we will be disappointed if the peace we ask for is “simply” cessation of warfare or a Congress that isn’t out to maim its political rivals. While peace in those arenas is a worthy aspiration (and hopefully we here at MWEG are part of that solution), lasting peace transcends this world. It will never be fully found through policies and proclamations, treaties and trials. I get so fraught sometimes with the current wrangling that I forget that the world has been in chaos in one form or another since Cain killed Abel.

Some of you may be familiar with the hymn, “It Is Well with My Soul,” which also plumbs the question of where is true peace found. It was written by Horatio Stafford (1828-1880), who was a lawyer and wealthy businessman in Chicago. Then the great Chicago fire of 1871 ripped through the area where all of his real estate investments were and financially ruined him. Not long after that tragedy, he and his family planned a trip to England. He was delayed, but his wife and four daughters boarded an eastbound vessel, the Ville du Harve, which collided with another in the Atlantic, killing all four of his daughters. His wife was found unconscious but alive on floating debris. He penned his hymn at the exact area in the ocean where his daughters died as he traveled to reunite with his distraught wife:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well, it is well with my soul.”

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

We, my MWEG sisters, are peace makers. We are peace seekers. In answer to the question posed by prophets and poets, “Where can I turn for peace?” that answer remains: “He, only One.”

“And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, shall keep your hearts, your minds through Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 4:7.