Non-Anxious Presence

I've been reading and writing about "finding peace" off and on for a year now. To me, it's one of the most essential parts of my relationship with Christ. My vision of Jesus, in part, is peace.

I recently learned a phrase seminary students are taught: "non-anxious presence." It means being the one person in the room who stays peaceful when everyone around them is losing it.

You know anyone like this?

Instead of getting sucked into the fear or frustration swirling around them, they stay cool. Like Ice Man. They don't try to fix everyone else, they focus on staying calm themselves, because they understand their own calm can change the whole room.

Jesus was the master of it. He slept through a storm that had His disciples panicking. He fed thousands with a few loaves of bread, unbothered by the size of the need in front of Him. Jesus was the one cool guy in every room.

That's the kind of peace worth chasing, not the peace that depends on our circumstances going our way, but the peace that comes from our relationship with Christ. As we grow in His likeness, we experience more of it.

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"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

Romans 15:13

I don't know about you, but I've got things to work on.

Be Nice. Grace Wins.

FMJ