Is finding peace like finding a needle in a haystack??

I have been thinking about peace and my peace journey. So often I think we Christians fall into the trap of thinking that once we are saved, we will be showered with gifts, such as joy, peace, prosperity, etc; that we will be on easy street and live a fairy tale life.

My journey has not always been that way, My wife and I have endured some tuff stuff, but it has been in these times that I have often experienced my greatest inner peace. Perhaps it's because during these times I am also pursuing God the most.

The bible says (http://www.biblegateway.com);
New International Version (NIV)
1 Chronicles 16:11

¹¹ Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Job 5:8-9

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. ⁹ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.

Psalm 63:1

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹ You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Jeremiah 29:12-14

¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.^[a] I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Matthew 7:7

 ⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Hebrews 11:6

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 13:15

 ¹⁵ Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

 

The christian life is a 2 way street, it's a relationship, one that I believe we have a very active part in. The above verses would suggest that anyway, that we need to pursue God always.....even when the going gets tuff and when we do, we experience only the joy and peace that he can provide. Sometimes finding peace does feel like looking for a needle in a haystack, but he is there with open arms ready to provide when we are truly ready to recieve.

Are you ready to recieve his goodness, are you truly given to him or do you have one foot in one store (the worlds store of goods) and one in God's store of goods?

John 14:27 New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

When Peace Like A River

Rock of Ages

I KNOW WHO HOLDS TOMORROW ( with Lyrics)