Your Island of Peace

 

Read:  Psalm 23 & Luke 5:15-16              

  Where do you go to find peace and calm?  Back in 1961 Golf Digest magazine interviewed Billy Graham, the well-known evangelist who preached at hundreds of revivals and led thousands to salvation in Jesus.  In that article he was asked about his place for peace and solace in the midst of his very busy schedule.  He said, “For me, a golf course is an island of peace in world often full of confusion and turmoil.”

I too find a golf course to be an island of peace.  In fact, that is one of the reasons I started to play golf.  My game was so bad at the beginning that the peaceful beauty of the course is the only thing that kept me coming back.  My game is a little better now, but it is still the peace I feel on the golf course that allows me to take a deep breath and be refreshed and renewed.

We all need to find that place.  A place of peace, renewal, comfort, and refreshment in the midst of a busy, confused, and tumultuous world.  For some it is a day fishing or boating on the lake, for others it is sitting around a campfire or going on a walk in the woods, for some it can even be a certain room or chair in your home.  It may be different for everyone, but we all need to find that island of peace and spend some time there.

Jesus did this.  Often in scripture we hear how Jesus got away from the crowds who were drawn to his miracles in order to rest and pray.  In Luke 5:16 it says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  If we want to follow the example of Jesus, then this is one of those examples we should follow.

In Psalm 23 it says, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”  The Lord is our provider and the Lord will also provide an island of peace for us to find rest sometimes.  It may be a golf course, it may be a pool, it could be a lake, it might be the woods, or it may be that special room or chair in your home.  Wherever it is, spend some time there and be refreshed!

Make it Personal:  Were you able to answer that question about where you find peace and calm?  If so I hope you will be intentional about spending time there and finding some peace and quiet in your life.  If not, I hope you will pray about where the Lord will lead you to find his peace. Will it be a green pasture or beside a quiet stream?  Ask where he is leading you.

Have a peace-filled week,  Glen Rhodes