A poem by Matt Pilgrim. For more visit To The Ends Of The Earth.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
I want a peace I can understand.
The kind I can hold and feel in my hand.
The kind I can paint on my bathroom wall
And smile at while I vacuum the hall.
The simple and fleeting peace I can find
Tucked in a well-trod corner of my mind
Where everything somehow turns to rainbows
And storms don’t come and the wind never blows.
Where it’s all self-care and affirmation
And well-laid plans never know frustration.
Where essential oils and a glass of wine
Can take the confusion and make it fine.
Some deep breathing here, a yoga pose there
And I drift off to sleep free from all care.
Now there you have peace I can understand
A peace constructed on life’s sinking sand.
And all held in place by data and hope,
That changes clothes but is still the same trope
That will never cleanse and redeem and fill
A heart that’s enslaved to a prideful will.
This sad sort of peace continues to prove
That it can never repair or remove
All of the sin and brokenness in me
Nor search out the captives and set them free.
In the end, another peace is required
One beautifully and divinely inspired.
One that’s far beyond my comprehension
That won’t be made a slave to convention.
It’s a peace I cannot hold in my hand
And it doesn’t wax and wane on command.
It’s a peace with foundations laid in Stone
That stands apart from the rest, all alone.
Not because the road that leads there is straight
Nor because those who find it become great.
But because Peace Himself walks the same road
Before, behind, and with, sharing the load.
It’s peace that surpasses understanding
It shames the others leaving none standing.
Because, oh, when it’s planted and takes root
It produces the sweetest of all of fruit
That doesn’t sour or fade with life’s turns
And endures all of the setbacks and burns.
Us worldlier types can’t grasp all of this –
Peace forged in weakness we’re quick to dismiss
And yet it outlasts and out-hopes the rest
As it puts it’s finger to Satan’s chest.
This peace continues to beckon nations
To lay aside their simple foundations
And plant feet and hearts and hopes on the Rock
And run to the Shepherd who guards His flock,
Offering peace they’ll never understand
As He holds and guides with His gentle hand.
I’ll take that peace today and tomorrow
I’ll take it in the storm and the sorrow.
Though it surpasses my understanding
I want to fight with Jesus commanding.