Personal Curriculum Notes #4 | Peace
When studying peace meets the realities of embodied life, human fear, and the grace of God.
I started a project this year.1
It’s a little raw and still taking shape, but each month I’m focusing on one fruit of the Spirit—praying, reading, and paying attention to how God forms us in the everyday rhythms of life.
These notes are simply what I’m noticing along the way—places of resistance, growth, and grace—as I learn to abide and trust the Spirit’s work.
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
(Is. 26:3)
When I entered this month’s topic of peace, I thought I’d be focusing on fear and anxiety (as the opposites of peace). Having said that, I’m not a particularly anxious person by nature, so maybe I wasn’t really sure what to expect. Knowing my hopes for this curriculum are to grow more toward Christ-likeness, I plunged in.
It was this month when I noticed that in examining these virtues in my life, they’ve most often exposed all the ways I fall short. Rather than reassuring me of my growth, I saw how far I still have to go. Here’s where an inner discouragement began to creep in, leading to an absence of peace.
I was reminded, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).
And like a sword piercing me, as only Scripture can do, I felt that vulnerability. Being completely seen. Being fully known. In all my weakness and shortcomings.
I certainly didn’t like that kind of exposure. Preferring instead to hide my weaknesses, justify my failures, or give myself a thumbs up with evidence of growth.
Yet David prays, “search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24).
As I leaned into the discomfort, I came to Psalm 139 and the divine attributes of God; His knowledge, presence and power. Even though I felt like a failure, (with all my perfectionist alarms sounding out) the love of the One Who Sees Me is steadfast and faithful, despite all my shortcomings.
His love lights up our darkness, our struggles and our limitations, because He has raised us up and made us alive, that we would be reconciled to Him. And though we live in the tension of the already-not-yet kingdom, He hasn’t abandoned His work in us. The Potter is still shaping the clay. Patiently. Faithfully. Even when we can’t see the progress ourselves.
So, while I studied peace, I came to know more of the One who gives peace.
And rather than measuring whether I possessed peace, this month revealed, once again, my daily need for grace.
Trusting that though I exert effort toward holiness, I depend on the grace and power of the Lord for these qualities. The fruit of the Spirit isn’t something I earn or achieve, it’s the gracious work of God as He transforms me day by day.
So, here’s a variety of highlights from a month about peace that stuck with me.
1. An Emotion vs A Person.
As I began to ponder peace this month, I thought about the desire I have, and many of my clients have, to be surrounded by peace; a sense of calm or serenity, an emotion, or state of being. We all want to feel peace.
We read Psalm 23 about the Good Shepherd leading us to still waters and the safety of green pastures, but we forget that it’s through the valley of darkness we’re being led.
So as we crave the allure of peace, something to keep in mind is whether our goal is the feeling of peace, or the One who gives it. Are we looking for the result rather than the Person?
As believers, we are known for the peace we have with God through Jesus Christ: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
We’ve been reconciled to God, which gives us hope for today and eternity, joy in knowing God and love for God and others by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.
But we can chase the feeling and never find the Person.
Even through our difficult days, the God of peace is with us, has redeemed us. So we are to “let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts” (Col 3:15) because it’s the peace we have in Him.
2. Peace, Practically.
Our family enjoys a full life. We’re involved in different activities (volleyball, basketball, flag football) and serving in a variety of ways (coaching, teaching Sunday school, Awana, mission boards). It’s a joy and privilege for us to be in the places we are.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean I don’t ever find my mind racing or get a bit stressed. But, I appreciate Jordan Raynor’s perspective where he points out that, “we often attribute our stress to having ‘too much to do.’ But this can’t be true, because we always have too much to do, yet we don’t always feel stressed out and out of control”2 and he explains that our thoughts often race because we don’t have a better system for getting all those floating thoughts out of our mind and into a system.3
So I took a look at what systems I already have in place, the tools I already use to keep our family organized, and where I could improve. Our family calendar is synced with all our devices, we have a morning time together where we pray and sit with the Word, then review the plan for the day ahead.
I needed to work on organizing my email inbox workflow and found this book4 to remind me of some basic principles for managing my email. I learned that I typically use my inbox as a to-do list, so I made some shifts to help clean that up.
3. Outward Feeds Inward
I guess this links to the previous point, but in tending to my organizational habits, I noticed that when my house is in disarray, I also FEEL more angsty. It’s as though the outward chaos breeds inward chaos. So this month I decided to organize one area of my house every week. That included my junk drawer (where I found $150!!), my garage, and the office closet. From cleaning out the email inbox to sorting closets, each small win was helpful to my peace of mind.
4. Peace and Fear
I enjoy reading the Puritans, and Triumphing Over Sinful Fear was in my kindle library, so it felt fitting for this month’s study. In typical Puritan style, Flavel describes different types of fear, their uses, causes, effects and then proposes remedies.
Not all fear is sinful. Some fear is appropriate and even protective. As I’m writing this, my dad has taken my daughter to her lifeguarding course in the city, where there’s currently a severe storm and tornado warning (one actually touched down about 15 minutes behind them).
The healthy fear to heed warnings, to take shelter when necessary, is important.
Even good fear reveals something about our finiteness and our need for wisdom as we navigate a world marked by uncertainty.
Flavel reminds us, “we must not expect a perfect cure for our fear in this life. While there are dangers and enemies, some fear will work in the best hearts. If our faith could be perfected, our fear would be perfectly cured. But while there is much weakness in our faith, there will be much strength in our fear.”
This resonates with what Scripture teaches us. We live in a world where fear is not fully eradicated. Yet Jesus says, “let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27). As we understand our fears, we can prepare well when it comes. With prayer, not panic. Clinging to truth and faith.
Because peace isn’t the absence of a threat, but an awareness of the presence of Christ.
So, instead of trying to get rid of fear all together, we’re invited to a deeper trust. To fix our eyes on Christ. To grow in knowledge of Him. And trust him so when fear arises, we’re confident of His strength and enduring presence with us through it all.
5. Embodied Peace
There’s nothing like a season of burnout or anxiety to remind us that our wellbeing is not only physical, but also emotional, relational, and spiritual.
As I mentioned earlier, life poured out in ministry, caregiving, and raising children can be full and meaningful. But without intentional rhythms of care for both body and mind, we’re at risk of becoming more depleted than we realize.
Justin Whitmel Earley5 writing out of his own experience of burnout and anxiety, describes how our physical habits function as a kind of spiritual formation. We don’t have to obsess or become legalistic about it, but implementing exercise routines, good nutrition or breathing exercises, can become ways of stewarding the bodies God has given us.
In my nursing and counselling practice, I often lean on cognitive strategies, but Earley also points out, “you cannot think your way out of a problem you didn’t think your way into. You practiced your way here; you need to practice your way out.” We need physical habits to care for ourselves, as well as (what we’d typically label) ‘spiritual’ ones.
But really, caring for our whole selves isn’t a division between spiritual and physical. It’s an acknowledgement that we’re integrated people before God. He forms us in belief and behavior, He’s created us mind, body and spirit.
We’re admonished to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind” (Luke 10:27). So in all we do, with our whole selves, we’re doing unto the Lord.
6. Still He’s Good
“Peace is a hushed heart. Peace is when you trust God to be good no matter what happens. He is always good. Peace comes when you stop trying to squirm out of everything that is sad or hard. You sit still and believe in God.”6 -Kristen Couch
As I come to the end of this reflection, I find myself circling back to where I began.
To that discomfort I felt, reflecting back on the last few months, trying to measure growth, tallying up “gold stars” on my own imagined holiness chart, and the simmering disquiet of realizing how far I still have to go.
Those perfectionist habits are apparently difficult to let go of.
In psychological terms, it might be described as cognitive dissonance. In spiritual terms, it feels more like the Lord’s pruning; a painful but purposeful invitation to perseverance.
When I get riled up in trying to earn my righteousness, it’s those moments I’ve forgotten the good news of the gospel. Hence the daily summons to return to the truths of the Word, to lay my emotions before the cross and receive the grace given for me today, and probably pray for more.
The Gardener is tending his garden, so that fruit will grow in His time, for His glory and for the good of others.
What’s most interesting in learning about the fruit of the Spirit, is the how they’re all connected. This pursuit of peace, as I mentioned, has been a call to persevere, and I think that’s exactly where patience comes in.
So, until next month,
May we become fruitful as we thrive in grace.
More Content on Peace
📚 15 Christian Books on Peace: From Anxiety to Reconciliation and Rest
📝 The Fruitful Reader’s Journal - Peace Edition (free download)
Resource List
This was my curriculum list for the month:
Studying and meditating on Isaiah 26:1-4, John 14:25-27, Colossians 3:12-17, Romans 5:1-5
Fruitful Theology by Ronni Kurtz (ch.4 Peace, re-read; My Review) ; Deep Roots, Good Fruit by Kristin Couch (ch.4 Peace, re-read: My Review)
I read Triumphing Over Sinful Fear, Getting Things Done, Daily Inbox Zero, The Body Teaches the Soul
I listened to the Journeywomen podcast with David Platt on peace and Tim Keller’s sermon on peace
* Next up…. 🧗🏼♀️ Patience
I leaned into Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. I’m familiar with the GTD framework from articles I’d read when I was setting up my templates and workflow in Roam Research, so the book felt a slow to get through, due to the amount of detail. I also don’t use this system in a business context, just personal, so some of the info wasn’t relevant.
To sum up the GTD framework there’s 4 steps: Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect. I found I’m really good at capturing content and information, but when it comes to clarifying and organizing I don’t take enough time. So I took a pause to revamp my systems, remembering how I intended to organize my work and content, creating a “Someday/Maybe” and “Next Actions” page, and added them to my weekly review, to keep the dreams alive and a place to dump everything that’s on my mind. It was really helpful for me.
Daily Inbox Zero: 9 Proven Steps to Eliminate Email Overload, S.J. Scott. It’s a really short book that seems to be a collection of his blog posts on the topic. I appreciated how he begins the discussion with the foundations of how we approach and understand email.
The Body Teaches the Soul: Ten Essential Habits to Form A Healthy and Holy Life by Justin Whitmel Earley.
Deep Roots, Good Fruit by Kristin Couch.
Wow, such a rich study month! So many wonderful resources too 💛
I often pray Colossians 3, that 'the peace of Christ would rule in my heart', and in the heart of others in distress.
I loved this! I am also doing a series on the Fruits of the Spirit and what I love with Substack is the various perspectives God brings out! I got so much out of this article and appreciated the practical applications you gave to help us walk in peace! Thank you so much! Loved this!