Good morning. It is a righteous prayer that we lift up to our heavenly Father expressing our desire for peace. We pray for peace to be present in our own hearts and lives, and for peace to rest upon those whom we care about most urgently. Peace is a wonderful truth, a fruit of the Spirit, a benefit of God, and something that we value highly but for which we may not always feel we have time. Peace and patience are usually listed together in God’s Word where spiritual virtues are described. Peace may be the desire of our heart, but do we have the patience to take the time to discover and to nurture it? Do we have the needed patience for peace to find its way, and then to provide God’s promised blessing?
It was said that the ancient philosopher Socrates would often be walking along, discussing and explaining things to the disciples who crowded around him for instruction, and then suddenly…he would stop. It was like his brain froze and his body followed suit. His disciples would recognize the situation, and then they sat and waited for his return. When Socrates would snap out of his freeze-up condition, he would often share some new insight and then continue on his way. These behaviors might take only a few minutes, but it wasn’t unusual for them to take a few hours, and all the while his disciples sat patiently and waited for him to come to because they had learned that what he would have to say would be worth the wait.
I think that even today new wisdom often arrives floating upon a river of peace, moved along in the currents of patience.
Imagine if Socrates were with us today. Suppose he had one of his inspiration spells while standing ahead of you in the checkout line. “Hey buddy, yeah, you in the bathrobe, move along will ya! Some of us have stuff to do!” The importance of the line may dictate the force of our reaction. After all, it is one thing for someone to take longer than needed in the line at Walmart, but another thing all together if they are sitting at the wheel of their car and the light turned green…15 seconds ago! My patience (or lack of it) is often going to define my peace.
If we feel we lack the patience to wait for peace, perhaps these commands regarding peace will give you peace, or hope for peace: Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 In 1 Peter 3:11 we read of the path to follow: …let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.
God blesses us with the patience to find and embrace peace, but He also commands us to “pursue peace.” Let’s consider a couple of ways we might pursue peace, remembering that pursuing peace is not like chasing down prey. Pursuing peace is more about patiently letting it come to you.
First, I have found that when I am in pursuit of peace I need to remember to breathe. No, not the breathing I do when I’m not trying. I mean that breathing where you close your eyes, breathe in a deep breath, exhale it slowly, and repeat. While we breathe, we may find it helpful to envision who and what we love. If we will find the patience to breathe in this way, we will soon relax. As we relax, we will soon find our mind and body ready to pray, able to meditate on what God has said and done in our lives recently, and we are made ready for peace.
When breathing has made us ready, we give thanks. Yes, giving thanks is an act of prayer. But, giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18) has an amazing, peace-bringing effect. Giving thanks while we are resting our minds in peace changes our outlook, our attitude, our understanding, our expectations, and our health. In every way, giving thanks is good for you.
Patiently pursuing peace 
is a discipline in the Lord. There are times and days when I don’t feel like it. I don’t feel like I have the patience to pursue peace or to properly embrace it. Those are the moments and the days when I need peace most of all. Those are the moments and the days when I need to begin my pursuit of peace with a prayer seeking my Lord’s assistance.
I doubt that I will run into Socrates at Walmart, but I do pray for the patience to pursue peace, and for the wisdom to recognize its value.
May God fill you with peace that surpasses understanding!
Vern