Peace after struggle

"In the course of time, David defeated the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Metheg Ammah from the control of the Philistines. David also defeated the Moabites... So the Moabites became subject to David and brought tribute. Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses. When the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David struck down twenty-two thousand of them. He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went... David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people."

"...and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,"

Peace. When I think of the struggles many face today, finding peace is one of them. There are numerous reasons why we are not at peace. External forces such as the economy, unfavorable working situations and social conflict often combine themselves into a miasma of heaviness and hopelessness. Internal forces such as personal fulfillment, vocational achievement, physical condition and mental aspiration add to geopolitical dilemmas, often making us ponder the purpose of life. A spirit of aporia begins to overtake us and the darkness of depression rumbles the coming storm overheard. It would seem in times such as these, that peace is just one step too far away. Yet for all the foreboding darkness of the internal and external, I believe there is peace. It often comes after great conflict, but it also can be found in the midst of swirling chaos. My peace is based on my hope in the LORD and his desire to see His world righted.

As an athlete, I intimately understand injury and physical pain. I can tell you the qualitative difference between sprains, strains, hairline fractures and compound breaks. I can also speak of the bitter disappointment of lost time, of season ending injuries that not only take away a year, but have lasting effects in the future. I can speak of coming within quarter inches of a goal, only to be found wanting. I can speak of unhealed and twisted muscle fibers, from years of ever so slightly improper movements, and the arduous task of retraining my body to wash away the pain stemming from the fitness I love. It would seem that in all this struggle there is no peace. And if my goals were solely based on performance, then perhaps I would not have it, just years of memories of not quite being good enough. But the peace I have and experience comes from the days when I feel the aches and pains subside. When I see that all of the injuries and damages can be healed, that my body can be whole; if only I keep pressing onward. The danger often found when chasing peace is giving up too soon. Instead of giving up because we have not found what we are chasing, we should change the way we run after our desire. Peace is not found after a hard chase, that feeling is exhaustion, but peace is found when we slowly and resolutely pursue a goal or a dream, finally realizing its full potential. My body is far from its full potential, but on the days after hard work, when I realize that old pains are subsiding I find solace in the comfort of a loving and healing God, despite years of unsatisfying struggle.

David's struggles as King were often against other men. There are few challenges greater than facing physical opponents, and there is a sweet joy in victory when we know we have attained something that can never be taken from us. In the peace David found after years of fighting other nations, was solace in fact that God loved him. God loved David so much He made an everlasting covenant with him, because David honored God with his life; he loved God by the way he lived. David's love led him to do very foolish things, like dance in the streets only wearing an ephod or show kindness to those who unjustly tried to kill him. But because of his love, and even through all of his faults, God made a David a promise. A promise that there would always be a man of his lineage on the throne of an eternal kingdom. This didn't mean that David's kingdom would last forever, in truth it split apart shortly after the death of his son. But God wasn't promising David an earthly kingdom of peace, he was promising him an eternal peace available in every kingdom.

When I think on such peace, I am reminded that the love of God brings peace. It may not settle external conflicts, but it can settle our internal strife. God's goal is to settle the external conflicts through internal peace. When I meditate on the love of God, its very disarming; God has no desire for us to shout and stab at each other. It's not his will that we raise our voices against one another. He does not desire to fill us with rage that will conquer and consume our enemies, but instead desires to fill us with a peace, causing us to lay our weapons down. In the laying down of our earthly weapons, we take up weapons of righteousness. We defend ourselves not with anger, but with truth. We attack not out of defiance, but out of unselfish desire for resolution. We fight, not because we must, but because we believe God acting through us is capable of bringing an end to the conflict surrounding us. It's not that we will bring an end to all conflict forever, for this is not our role, but that there can be an end to some conflicts within our lifetimes, even if only for a brief moment.

How is it this is attainable? By falling on His peace and love. By letting go of our doubts and fears and trusting he wants our conflicts to end; trusting in His character to bring us home and give us peace on every side. Yes, there will be a struggle for this peace, and yes, there will be those who oppose it. But the opposition does not have the fuel to finish the fight. Anger, malice and rage are quick burning simple carbs compared to the complex, whole-grained carbohydrates of God's love. It's the slow burning fires that last the longest, are the easiest to maintain and are the most successful in the end. Such is God's love; a fire that has an unquenchable source of fuel, God Himself. It is his love that fuels our own.

The love and peace of God are slow burning fires re-forging our broken world. Whether the pain we experience is physical, emotional or rooted in our surroundings, we can find the peace of God by focusing on His love. Such a peace reigned for a time when David was king, and such a peace can reign again when we set our eyes on His desires, not just the measurements of this world. God's love gives us more than could ever want; it fulfills our earthly desires, even as we sort through the painful experiences of this life and try to make sense of them.

On my best days, I focus on the love of God. This love brings me peace, reminding me that for all my gifts, I am not the one who brings peace to this world. I am simply one to find peace and live it as best I can. It is not for me to say what happens in the external, but for what happens in my internal. I would much rather dwell in the peace of God than a house of my own making. For the peace of God is better than the greatest houses built by human hands. It is this peace upon which I base my now, my fitness and my future.