One handful of peaceful repose is better than two fistfuls of worried work.
Ecclesiastes 4:6
The king was building a new palace, and he wanted the main entrance hall to be decorated with a large work of art.
The king envisioned his kingdom as a peaceful land, so whoever’s painting best symbolized peace would win a large cash prize.
Over the next few months, hundreds of paintings arrived at the palace. The king decided on the top two. Before announcing a winner, he hung both paintings in the palace for public viewing.
The first painting was of a majestic lake, so tranquil and still that the lush hills behind it were perfectly mirrored in its reflection. The sky was a brilliant blue with soft, puffy clouds floating above. Wildflowers bursting with color outlined the lake, and a family of deer calmly grazed in a far meadow.
All who saw it felt peace and happiness.
The second painting portrayed a tall mountain cliff, rugged and strong. A few small trees grew out of the cracks of the face of the cliff, with gnarled roots clinging for life. A foamy waterfall angrily crashed down the cliff and into the misty abyss. Above, dark ominous clouds loomed, and in the distance lightning flashed. Halfway up the cliff grew a small bush. In its branches, a bird sat in a nest apparently warming her eggs.
After several weeks, the king declared the second painting the winner. Confused and upset, the people asked the king to explain his decision.
He said, “Peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is a state of mind. Those who experience peace have clarity and calm even when turmoil surrounds them.”
Peace is not something you wish for. It’s something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away. –—Robert Fulghum
So how about the two of you?
Which painting would you have chosen?
You’ve heard of the political doctrine of achieving “peace through strength.” But for God-followers, it’s the other way around: Strength through peace.
When you are feeling your weakest, when you are broken and frail, God promises to keep you in “perfect peace” when your mind is focused on him (see Isaiah 26:3-4).
Why? Because as the prophet Isaiah said, God is the Rock eternal. God is your strength.
Reflect and Respond
In what specific ways do both of you need God to be your strength this week and why?
Go ahead, tell us in the comments.
Related Resource
You’re Stronger Than You Think
It’s time to live boldly. No more feeling frustrated. No more spinning your wheels. Say goodbye to being powerless. The secret to tapping into your inner strength is not about positive thinking or gritting your teeth or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. It’s a counter-intuitive approach that leverages your weakness to reveal a surprising power.
you can wind yourself up all you want it doesn’t change anything, seek Godly council but be careful the devil can appear as an angel of light. If you know the character of God you’ll recognize His voice. I speak from experience and with everything on my plate right now both physical & emotional I’ve been tempted to run for council but have learned to sit still God knows all about it He’ll take care of this entire mess and since nothing happens He hasn’t already allowed I trust Him to know what He’s doing. Sadly my husband doesn’t business he’s God’s responsibility not mine
Linda, thanks for your thoughts here. I am new to posting things here. How are you associated with Les & Leslie Parrot ministries?
We are in a transition time when my wife is finished a year of teaching grade one, home for the summer where she was almost always at school or preoccupied with school things. I work from home and am there professionally as a health care provider and as her domestic support, keeping the home as it were. We recently had our good old dog die of old age related kidney failure and he was a kind of glue that held us together and grounded us with his accepting presence. We miss him terribly and are kind of regrouping without him. Our challenges are around accepting each others differences and letting the other be. She is enjoying a new sense of freedom and wants to include me, where I rely on home as a place of rest and social interaction with clients who visit daily, but then leave again. Today we are trying to find the “we” in our togetherness and the balance between enjoying the partnership and letting the other go free without being forced to stay for a sense of “us” we seem to have lost. Also keeping the house a home and getting out to have fun together.
I would certainly choose the picture of the cliff and the bird nesting, but I might add a few broken shells where the fledgling has flown away and the nest is empty. Is there a nest built for two? “)
My mother in law died on Saturday night. She was 87. Her death was peaceful, with the family around her bedside. This week we have all felt God’s peace thanks to the prayers of our friends and family.
My husband and I have been counseling/mentoring couples for 14 years. We actually started after our marriage had been hit with a huge move from friends and family, some severe consequences to my husband due to his porn addiction, (which was the catalyst to set him free) our son diagnosed with brain cancer and unexpected loss of work for my husband and finally a failed business that lost all of our savings! Our marriage was completely destroyed BUT God’s call was loud and clear.God not only saved our marriage through our mentoring of others, he redeemed it and continues to redeem it! Mentoring others holds us accountable to work on our relationship and ALWAYS shows us an area of trouble we wouldn’t normally have seen! We are JUST starting to mentor couples to be marriage mentors! Such a rewarding ministry!