Peace Begins With Acceptance

Peace and joy begin with acceptance. 

It’s a phrase that God has often brought to mind during the past decade of near constant trials in our family. Between a daily battle with chronic illness, a debilitating injury, suffering children, financial woes, and the strain of caring for a loved one with mental illness, God’s provided many lessons in the classroom of acceptance of his will over the years.

Acceptance, however, is different than resignation. While resignation implies giving up and laying down in defeat, acceptance is believing and trusting that the One who does have control is good and trustworthy, even when we can’t see it in the moment. It’s humbly receiving his purposes and will for our life because we not only believe our Father’s promises, but we trust that he will be faithful to bring them about. For he says,

“I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” 

Jeremiah 29:11

This year has pushed me past limits that I didn’t think God would ask of me. Disappointments have compounded; hopes have been dangled and then seemingly ripped away; and I’ve faced doubts, fears, and feelings of despair that have felt suffocating at times.
 
There have been many moments where I’ve stood before a proverbial fork in the road. Will I accept what has come from the hand of the Father, trusting there are purposes beyond what I can see in the moment? Or will I believe that God is a cruel taskmaster, using me as a pawn to accomplish his purposes, and is not truly for me and my eternal good? 

It’s hard to admit that these thoughts swirl in my mind, but I’m confident that I’m not alone in having them. The enemy works tirelessly to taunt us with these questions and doubts when life makes little sense from our eyes. In these moments – these disorienting, faith-shaking moments – we must fight to hold fast to what we know is true. 

“But God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

– Romans 5:8, 31

Acceptance says, “God has given his own Son for me to bring me into his presence and glory, despite having nothing to offer in myself. If so, then what he’s allowing in my life comes from the same heart of the Father who was willing to bear the cross on my behalf.”

I admit, there’s so much I simply can’t understand right now. Disappointment seems to be around every corner, and my suffering is only increased when, deep down, I believe that I deserve better. But I’ve also experienced the peace that comes when I accept that whatever my circumstances may be, they have first been sifted through the loving and sovereign hand of my Heavenly Father who knows the beginning, middle, and end of my story. 

Do I still grieve, cry, and ask him why? Definitely. But the more I let go of what I expect and think I deserve, the more quickly I’m able to entrust the disappointments and difficulties to the One who promises he is not only for me, but he’s preparing me for something better and lasting – even as I grieve it’s painful presence. 

Friend, there is so much freedom and peace in the acceptance of God’s will above our own. The more we allow ourselves to stew in the bitterness of what we can’t make sense of, the more miserable we become. The more we trust our circumstances from the hand of our Father who loves us and knows what’s best for us, the more we’ll be attune to the unexpected treasures and blessings to be found. We, too, will be able to say with the Psalmist,

“But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
 like a weaned child with its mother;
 like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (Psalm 131:2)

I don’t say any of this lightly, as if I’ve achieved an unshakable peace no matter what circumstances come my way. The Lord knows I’ve had my fair share of spiritual tempter tantrums lately as he continues to allow an overload of real life experience in this area. But praise God that he is patient with us in the process of growing in trust and surrender when everything in us desperately wants to make sense of our circumstances.

Today, may the Lord help us hold these two truths in tandem as we press on in the confusion of our unwanted circumstances – “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).”

Lord, help us accept what you have allowed in light of what you have promised will one day come.

Home is around the corner,

Sarah

To read more of Sarah’s writings, you can purchase a copy of He Gives More Grace: 30 Reflections for the Ups and Downs of Motherhood, Hope When It Hurts: 30 Biblical Reflections to help you grasp God’s purpose in your suffering), Tears and Tossings (short evangelistic resource on how God carries our sorrows), or Together Through the Storms (for married couples navigating the trials of life).