Spring is slowly finding its way here to New England. After a long winter of record-breaking cold, the change in season is eagerly welcomed. Nature awakens the earth from its restful slumber calling forth a time of renewal and rebirth. Increasing sunlight beckons forth the tender, green shoots of new growth. A slight tinge of colour, in the form of crocus and daffodil is beginning to paint the landscape in pastel.
The birds, returning north, fill the air with faint notes of song. And a gentler wind encourages budding tree limbs to dance in the warming breeze. Cause for the heart to rejoice, now that winter is past and gone.
Yet the spring season has also brought a storm of unrest to a world riddled with hostility and dissention. And we look with dread upon the ever-increasing strife that is here at home and abroad. Too many people are caught up in a vortex of cruelty and conflict, of anxiety and worry. Calls for justice or accountability grow ever fainter and harder to hear.
And the heart breaks over the pain; the innocence lost, never to return. Sometimes, things just cannot be put back together as they were before.
More often than not, this world is a paradox. On one hand the beauty and promise of rebirth, on the other, death and further destruction. It is sad and deeply disturbing. The lines of right versus wrong have become blurred. Truths are fraught with lies. All so fluid as to obscure intent from even those most knowledgeable. And deliberate misinformation, with its resulting chaos, makes it near impossible to fully understand purpose. Leaving us adrift in a world gone mad.
There were never any guarantees of peace on this earth; only the hope that it would someday rule. And since hope springs eternal…
So, we take what heart can be had from this, and continue to walk our way. But to see the increasing number of countries and people – including our own – caught up in, and torn apart by such virulent rhetoric is beyond what the mind can comprehend or disseminate.
All this does is further add to an increasing sense of insecurity and uncertainty. And we are left wondering, is there peace to be found anywhere? Certainly not at this point in time!
700 years before Christ’s birth, the prophet Micah foretold the following
He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
and in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely,
for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
And He will be their peace.”
“He will be their peace...” Think about it.
The peace we have in this world is of God, not man.
It is not dependent on extraneous circumstances. On pacts, treaties or agreements – verbal or otherwise. Neither is it based on whom we elect – or not. We can’t look around, or outside ourselves for peace. For it is simply not to be found there.
The Spirit of the Lord is an entity which comes from within. It lives and flourishes in the small, still center of our souls, where God Himself lives and has Being. Whatever peace we may know or can have, must come from inside ourselves. There, it has both the potential and ability to be our constant companion. A sure help in all the situations of life.
And so, we nurture that Spirit within and live from our hearts. Acknowledging the two greatest precepts of the Hebrew Scripture… do unto others, and love your neighbor. Walking with honesty and integrity. Extending a hand of care and concern. These tenets have been around for centuries… because they are truths that live and breathe.
The words of these precepts are timeless and have proven their worth far beyond any doubt or question. The same cannot be said for whatever edicts we hear today, which end up lying in the dust tomorrow
The sharing and receiving of love, is to know peace in your heart. With eyes fixed above and beyond ourselves, it becomes possible to find the strength to rise above the pettiness and hatred, and live in an atmosphere of spiritual serenity. For we are in the care of – and answer to – a higher authority.
Spring has indeed revealed a world far more troubled than any we have seen in many a long year.
But it also reveals God’s continuing and never-ending love for us; as found in each budding tree, flowering bloom, or sweet notes of bird-song.
God has not given up on the world. And spring is a sure sign of this. That His Hand remains steady upon us.
As winter gives way, so too will the struggle and strife run its course. The divisive lies and discord eventually find their end. In the fullness of time, this vicious cycle will spend itself down.
Thus, giving way to a better day, and whatever peace may prevail here on earth.
“He will stand and shepherd His flock… continuing to care and watch over them. For we are children of God after all, and His love surrounds us… especially so, in these most difficult and confusing of times.
As the prophet Micah said,
“He will be their peace…. and they will live securely.”
Let this be your comfort when the anxieties
of strife and discord trouble your heart.