When Things are Tough – Where Is The Peace?

When things are tough, do you find it difficult to settle your spirit, to be still? My personal experiences have been of finding it easier to find spiritual peace when things are tough, then when things are going well.

But, if you think about it, it does make sense. When things are going well for us, we tend to forget to be thankful, to be grateful for the many blessings in our lives. When things get tough (and this economic challenge we face would qualify as being tough for many) it is natural to sit back and assess your life and what you’ve been doing with the money and stuff in your life. Surely I am not the only person who has sat back and done a survey of his life when the road got rocky?

I recall in the early 1990’s being laid off from a job because of some changes that took place vis-à-vis changes in Canadian law. My position became “too expensive” to be maintained by my employer, who was forced to downsize, and I was one of the people who was let go.

I like to think that I am a spiritual person by nature. No, I reword that statement. I know the essence of who I am is Spirit; I suppose the better way to put it is that I liked to think that I operated from a “spiritual” rather than a “material” or “physical” perspective. When I got laid off and was out of work for 1.5 years and lost everything, I got a chance to see that I was indeed (as per the Madonna song) very much a “material girl” and not as “spiritual” as I thought myself to be. I lost all my stuff, all my savings and was stripped down to having to give notice to my landlord because I couldn’t keep up the high rent. All the while, I tried to get a job anywhere doing anything. You see, I always thought I was the “greatest” in my profession and “anyone would be lucky to have me.” That theory got blown out of the water pretty quickly.

I told my landlord I was going to have to move. My landlord reduced my rent by two-thirds because they didn’t want me moving! This was amazing and yet another spiritual marker got planted in my life.

You see, my landlord had observed my “challenges” over a twelve month period; had seen me offer (free of charge) my services to those less fortunate than me, because my services came by way of “words”; free legal advice and direction. I hated to see new immigrants taken advantage of by our slum landlords and by others who would take advantage if they could get away with it. So, I’d tell people what they had to do (in Small Claims Court) because they couldn’t afford a lawyer, and in that court in Canada, you do not need a lawyer; it is supposed to be a “people’s court”. I’d even go with them if they were too nervous, just to encourage them and step in if it got to be too much. My generosity of spirit (actually walking the walk) was returned unto me ten-fold by my landlord’s generosity. He even told me that I wasn’t to pay the new rent, if it meant I wasn’t going to eat. Oh, and they also picked up the tab on the hydro bill!

In those times of “time” being my own, I had more time to write, to stop and talk with people, to search out new opportunities and to discover the true essence of me and what made me tick; what made me happy. I’d always worked for the money, and never had a great love for what I did, unless it definitely helped another human being. Then I was happy. I stuck with it because the money was good; no, the money was great! I guess money was my ultimate dictator, so someone had to pull the rug out from under my feet to get me to move, to change direction.

In those tough and challenging economic times – times much like someone reading this may be going through now – I learned a lot about what it truly means to be Spiritual and to walk that walk, not just talk the talk.

I lived on very little and I never did without; I never went without food and just at the ninth hour when something came due…voila, the exact amount needed to pay the bill appeared; not a penny more nor a penny less. The Lord gave me yet another fleece; He proved the faithfulness of His Word that tells us that His children, “will never lack,” and that He will, “meet all our needs.” Note – He meets all our “needs” not our “wants”.

I would look in amazement at week’s end and see how much I had done, what had transpired in my life, how much I had accomplished, how many new people I’d met and even helped some, how strangers may have helped me, and how I did without nothing and could not help but wonder in amazement, “What in heaven’s name did I do with all that money I was making? Here I am living on no income, and I am living!”

I eventually did get a job, and it wasn’t one in my profession. Guess what the job was? It was as a counsellor in a women’s shelter here in Toronto! Who would have thought! My experience the preceding 1.5 years did me well to be able to truly hear what the women were saying who showed up, “homeless”, escaping from an abusive relationship, having lost a job. I could so relate to them and they knew it was my heart speaking when I spoke, when I reached out and touched a hand. They knew that I knew the turmoil and fear in their hearts and I knew they believed me and felt encouraged. I could see their chins lift, ever so slightly; could see a tiny glimmer of hope spark an eye.

I found spiritual peace in those tough economic times, like I’d never known before. Perhaps I should say that in those quiet times I would have, when in prayer or meditation, Peace, Spiritual Peace responded and came home to rest and grow in me…and then show through me.

That spiritual peace is always there, and today, though I am working, I need it almost more than I needed it when I wasn’t working. The work place can become a bedlam of turmoil and much adieu about nothing. I can get caught up in things, and politics, and stuff that just doesn’t matter in the long run.

So it is with gratitude and a bursting heart that I return in mind and vision to that 1.5 year journey through tough and very challenging economic turmoil and upheaval, when I found real Spiritual Peace that became deeply rooted in me, and say with all of my heart – thank you my God for having crafted my character to meet the next assignment you were sending me out on. Thank You for Your Gift of Peace. You give a Gift and it is a Gift for Life! I am not telling you by any stretch of the imagination that it was easy; it was not. What I discovered in those times was a strength and a belief, a faith in YHWH, that He would meet my needs, would provide – and He sure enough did as well as treasures of character and things that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

Had I stayed in the old job, I never would have experienced such joy and peace; would never have gotten to know the true meaning of Spiritual Peace.

Yahshua always spoke peace. Though he might heal you, it seems it was secondary to what he wanted to give you. He seemed always to add blessings of peace. So in these tough economic times, if you find yourself with time on your hands, seek out peace and it will be found. The Word tells us that we have not because we ask not; it tells us to knock and the door will be opened, seek and you shall find, ask and it will be given unto you.

Seek Peace and it will be found. Be encouraged by the Word of the Bible, from the mouth of Yahshua himself. The Lord has proven to me over and over again the Truth of His Word, of His Promises. I’ve tried to share these “real life” facts with you, to strengthen and encourage you – that He is Faithful and He is True.

The times of which I write happened so vary long ago, but in my mind’s eye, it was like yesterday. The reason it seems but a moment ago is because there are special gifts imprinted in my heart and soul; treasures that I can re-examine at any time for my own self-encouragement should I find myself in a challenging time or a time when, perhaps a hard choice needs to be made about the next stage of my human journey. In whom is my Faith and my Trust? Is it the person who writes my pay cheque, or He who uses that person as an instrument to provide me with the pay cheque for, “meet my needs.”

You may have noted in my last few lines the words “my needs.” My needs have always been met and I bet so have yours. It’s those “must have wants” that drive us insane, that keep us scurrying around in our self-built cages chasing our tails.

We are all Spiritual beings on a physical journey, but live our lives as though we were fleshly beings – for everything that we chase after is something we feel is needed to fulfill our desires, our wants, our must haves. Only the flesh needs these things, not the Spirit. In those challenging times, my Spirit got some much needed attention and I was able, thanks to my unasked for time off, to delve in and pay some much needed attention to my essence.

Luke 7:50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

John 20:19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” :20 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” :26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”