How to Find Peace in Life When You’re in a Mess
How do you find peace in life when everything seems to be falling apart?
Life can get messy.
The older I get the more I realize how much is out of my control.
We can make our plans, but things happen.
If we keep our eyes on our circumstances, we can easily begin to sink into a well of anxiety.
But God’s Word has a prescription for us to follow:
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
But peace is not something we can muster up….at least not for long.
You see worldly peace is determined by outward conditions, where biblical peace is rooted in Christ.
Paul tells us that the peace we want comes from our assurance of salvation in Christ.
Jesus is our Hope.
He is the Prince of Peace.
His PEACE is the one that keeps us calm in the midst of life’s storms.
Jesus tells us that we will have trouble, BUT we can have peace in Him.
Why? Because He’s already overcome the world.
If you’re going through a hard time today, I want to share how to find peace in life when you’re in the middle of a mess.
3 Things to Remember When You’re in the Middle of a Mess
God is with you
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
When life gets messy and anxiety tries to creep in, remember that God is with you. You ARE NOT doing life alone!
We don’t have to rely on our own strength to get through our messes, even if we’ve created them!
I think we believe God will help us if we’re in a mess that was caused by circumstances outside of our control.
Yet, when we’ve created a mess, we think, “He’s not getting me out of this. I have to fend for myself.“
Many years ago, we were living in a house that was beginning to get REALLY cramped. It was 3 bedrooms and 7 of us.
To say we were ready to be out of there would be an understatement.
But rather than waiting on God’s timing, I pushed for finding a new house.
We found a subdivision not far from where we lived, with a house that seemed awesome.
It was a little less square footage, but the layout was more open, and felt like it had more room.
We put an offer in, painted the entire house, and began storing stuff in the garage….all before actually closing on the property.
You can probably see the potential for disaster in this situation, but I was blinded by the discontentment of the old house.
Needless to say, the contract ended up falling through on our house so we had to back out of the house we put an offer on.
We were in a mess and I was frustrated.
But even in the midst of a mess that I created, God showed up. He used that situation to teach us about His timing and being content. He also showed us that He is faithful even when we aren’t.
Was there a consequence? Absolutely. We lost a fortune from the paint job.
However, He also saved us from being sued and from buying a house that later on, we probably wouldn’t have been able to get out of.
If you are in a mess because of your own doing….don’t believe the lie that God will not show up for you or that He will abandon you.
There may be consequences and it may not be easy, but friend, God promises to always be with us regardless of our circumstances.
So often we hesitate coming to God when we’ve gotten ourselves in a mess.
I believe God wants us to come to Him when we’ve made a mess.
Hebrews 4:16 says this,
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
God is not distant from us. He wants us to draw near and rely upon Him.
Peace comes when we surrender and rely upon His strength in our time of need.
God loves you
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 1 John 4:18
Do you know how much God loves you?
When my life was really messy and I was struggling with severe fear and anxiety, God gave me this verse.
He began to reveal to me that I had a wrong view of Him.
Rather than having a reverent fear for Him, I was afraid of Him.
I saw Him as unpredictable and wasn’t sure if He would really take care of me.
As a new Christian, I had accepted Jesus into my heart, but I didn’t understand God’s character.
There were past hurts and all kinds of hindrances that had shaped my view of Him.
I realized I needed to know Him more, so I studied the Psalms and wrote down every.single.scripture that pointed to who God was.
As I studied who He was, I began to trust Him more and began to really understand how much He loves me.
Friend, He loves you too!
YOU are the apple of God’s eye.
He loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you.
That perfect love…..it kicks fear to the curb. Why?
Because that perfect love shows the lengths that God will go to in order to rescue His people. If He will sacrifice His only Son, for us, we can be confident that He will protect us and deliver us from a mess in life.
God is working all things out for your good
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28 NIV
Does your mess feel like it’s unfixable? When life gets chaotic and things aren’t working out the way we expected, we can become discouraged by the possibility of being stuck.
But I have learned that nothing is too hard for God and nothing is wasted with God.
Even the messiest of situations, He can use for our good and His glory.
Remember that cramped house we were in that didn’t sell?
A year or so later, water damage from trees hitting the house caused black mold in the attic.
We were devastated.
But I distinctly remember God giving me the scripture from Romans 8:28.
When the insurance company rejected our claim the first time, I clung to that verse. When they told us we had to move out, I declared that God would use this somehow.
And He did!! It was a trying time for sure, but the things God did through this were miraculous.
Not only did our claim end up getting approved, but they paid for us to live in a 5 bedroom house for 3 years while our house was being fixed. And the best part….it was closer to our friends and our church!
Once it was fixed, a long-term renter came in right away, allowing us to purchase a house we really wanted.
Friend, God is good.
I don’t know what your mess looks like right now, but God does.
He is El Roi, the God who sees you.
Not only does He see you, but He has promised to never leave you in your broken state. He loves you and will use every bit of your messy life in ways you never imagined.
Choose to stay in peace and to surrender your mess to God. It’s in our greatest mess that He brings forth a message.