ZPCBlog

About the author: Elia Mrakovich is the NextGen Director at ZPC. Elia has been married to Erin for 6 years and they have a son, Rowan, who is 2.

This week's scripture: Isaiah 11:1-10

Peace can be such a fickle word. It can mean a lot of things and sometimes mean nothing at all. We hear it in greetings and goodbyes, as well as cards, songs, art and scripture. At this time of advent we are brought back as a community to this idea to dwell on and consider the question, is peace possible?

It is no coincidence that the first week we spent our time meditating on hope. It is only with hope that we can begin to imagine a world where the lion and the lamb reside together. As we go down this road together let us not forgo hope in our time considering peace. 

Finding peace in my own life actually tends to be fleeting. Many times it isn't even my external surroundings but more frequently the internal conversations that create chaos. The time constraints, the hopes and dreams, the past mistakes, the self-doubt and the self-righteousness. My mind and heart tend to wander far and wide. Peace can feel impossible.

In this regard it is difficult to relate with the Israelites who would be reading this. The people who have been enslaved, oppressed, hunted, and removed from their homeland. Peace for them must have been like a far off dream, to one day be free and to worship in peace while enacting God's will for their nation without violence.

A shoot will grow out of Jesse's root. Jesus will come and initiate a kingdom where children won’t be harmed by snakes, where the leopard will lie with the goat and we will all find peace. We all know Jesus has come and yes the world has become more peaceful in ways and perhaps more chaotic in others. So how do we begin to find peace? How is it possible for peace to go everywhere if we haven't done the work to submit ourselves to God's sovereignty.

Finding peace for myself revolves around breathing and meditation. There are seasons where I am very peaceful and others where I am a hurricane. The days I am at the most peace is when I allow my breath to be my prayer, to breathe God and his peace in and to exhale out the chaos. When I meditate on his loving embrace and his voice I find that the internal storm begins to calm. 

Peace everywhere begins with peace somewhere, peace for everyone begins with peace for one. So if we want to find peace in this world, it begins with peace in our hearts. Where in your life have you experienced chaos, lack of control, anxiety, anger, mistrust, impatience, or discontent? Where are the places in you that you have submitted through time and exhaustion to chaos? Where can you begin to take one step at a time to build habits that promote peace within you? What are the spiritual disciplines that you can enact one day at a time?

Spiritual practice in my life has always been incremental. I’ve always failed at long term large commitments to read the scriptures cover to cover or to pray for 30 minutes every day. The practices that worked for me revolved around small goals. Memorizing a short scripture, praying once a week, sitting in meditation for 15 minutes. 

The passage concludes with an image of water covering  the sea as they have submitted to the Lord's authority. In ancient Israel the image of water was synonymous with chaos and confusion, yet here the image conveys peace and calm. This is and can only occur as we submit ourselves to his overflowing peace. 

There are lists and lists of spiritual practices in these devotionals and here again is a plea. Lean into the power of Christ by submitting your time to the practices Christ has taught us through his church.

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