How do you find inner peace, when life is out of control?
Maybe you’ve wondered this in the last two years, as the entire planet faced unexpected circumstances. From career and financial stress to illness and extreme changes—we’ve found ourselves lacking.
If you’re already feeling anxious just reading that—this is your sign to keep reading!
God’s peace is a constant reality that is available to you no matter what comes your way. Let’s talk about 3 practices we see in 2 of Jesus’ most famous miracles that will show us how to find inner peace in the midst of chaos.
1. Recognize Your Limits
2. Acknowledge God’s Presence
3. Believe and Feast on God
1. Recognize Your Limits
Most of our anxiety comes from this very realization: we are not enough. We’ve built our inner peace on our own abilities, and when they fail us—anxiety takes over.
John 6:1-15 shows us that Jesus’ disciples were faced with the same realization as He taught a crowd of 5,000 people in a remote area, far away from food and resources.
Jesus turns to Philip and asks, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?”
What a funny question, coming from the Son of God Himself! The Bible says Jesus was testing Philip.
You can see wheels turning his head. Philip answers Jesus quite logically: “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.”
The odds were stacked against them. Jesus was asking them to do the IMPOSSIBLE. But why would He even ask Philip this question if He knew the answer?
He wanted them to see their limits. Once they realize they can’t figure the situation out, Jesus responds by multiplying the bread so that it feeds all 5,000 people, plus leftovers!
Every single one of us has limits. That means you yourself do not sustain life, but you are given life. Here’s a secret: God created us with limits on purpose so we would need Him—the God of the impossible.
Isn’t this a relief? Let’s acknowledge that for a second; you have limits, and that’s a GOOD thing. This is your first step to finding inner peace in God, recognizing your limits.
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2. Acknowledge God’s Presence
The second story we are looking at takes place in John 6:16-21.
It’s nightfall, Jesus had withdrawn to be by Himself. The disciples got into a boat to cross the sea, and the winds became so strong they could hardly make any headway.
They’ve been rowing for 3 or 4 miles in the middle of the night. They’re scared, frustrated, and tired. Their lives are at stake and they don’t know where Jesus is.
Chances are you’re not stuck on a boat with the fear of drowning, but life can often feel that way. When the storms are raging and the intensity is high, the idea of having inner peace sounds like a joke. You’ve probably wondered, “Where is God right now?”
He’s a lot closer than you think.
John 6:19 says the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea towards the boat. The disciples see him, and like anyone would, they panicked and called it a ghost.
Jesus reassures them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
In our most overwhelming moments, the presence of Jesus may not be recognizable to us. But if we stop long enough to listen, we will see Him there, walking toward us on the water and getting into the middle of our circumstances with us.
If you’re searching for inner peace in the middle of a storm, take a minute to stop and acknowledge God’s presence.
3. Believe and Feast on God
If you didn’t already guess, Jesus calms the storm, and He and His disciples made it to the other side of the sea. (John 6:25) They got out of the boat to see that the same crowd of 5,000 people they had just fed the day before followed them all the way there. Jesus had now reached celebrity status.
They immediately started asking Him questions. “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
These people were trying to figure out what kind of work they must do. But Jesus was trying to tell them the only requirement for living a life of inner peace and abundance is to believe in God.
More than just loaves and fish, Jesus had revealed to them a promise to believe in: God ALWAYS provides. Believing in this truth will sustain inner peace in God.
Then comes the next question:
“What sign do you do, that we may see and believe you?” “Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness.”
This crowd of 5,000 people had just seen the miraculous. They saw bread and fish multiplied, more than enough for everyone to eat. Yet they still wondered why they should believe in Him.
Jesus answers them in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
The crowd responded saying, “Sir, give us this bread always!”
We think there’s a formula to solving our problems, but it’s actually so simple. Never stop feasting on the bread of Jesus. The things he provides: a job, a house, finances are great—but He is the true food. We can have everything we’ve ever wanted and still have no inner peace, because we were made to feed on Him alone.
Your search for inner peace is over. His peace is available to you no matter what you’re going through, and He will never leave or forsake you.
Take some time to be still and recognize your limits, acknowledge God’s presence, and pray this prayer: “Jesus, give me your bread always.” Enjoy this video of one of our favorite worship songs as you sit in God’s presence today.
