Picture the scene. I’m standing in the hallway with phone in hand, speaking to a recruiter about a job opportunity. In the first couple of minutes, I sense hesitation in his voice. Unphased, I carry on describing my experience while trying hard to ignore his skepticism. Insecurity begins to speak up and I start to question my own ability.
“Maybe I’m aiming too high.”
We chat a little more before he stops and comes out with his reservation.
“I notice you only have a Bachelor’s degree. You’d be working alongside people with higher qualifications. Do you think you could manage that?”
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t taken aback. In all my years of working, I had never thought what he had just voiced. I knew I was capable of doing the job and doing it well. Yet here I was, trying to sell myself to someone that had already decided I wasn’t good enough.
It’s funny how the negative comments are the ones that stick. A positive day can be ruined by just one cynical comment. Negativity has the power to linger and if we’re not careful, to deepen and grow. That one comment from a stranger could have knocked my confidence going into future conversations. This from a person I’d never met and most likely will never cross paths with again.
As I have gotten older, it has become really important for me to keep my peace. Not just an outward peace i.e. without conflict or confrontation, but an inner peace that is unwavering and undisturbed, despite the circumstances.
It can feel almost impossible to live with a level of peace these days, whether outward or inward. We live at a time where we are bombarded with information that can unsettle us at any moment. There are wars, rumours of wars, viral outbreaks, financial turmoil and economic crises. Breaking news comes directly to us whether we want it or not. Add to that the unhealthy relationship that most of us have with social media and it can feel like life is spiraling out of control.
We get a front row seat to heated debates about racism, anti semitism and opposing political views. We can find ourselves investing precious time and energy, being forced to pick a side. And if we manage to escape all of the above, we discover that the number of likes and comments we get on our socials seems synonymous with our worth. We are pitted against others, against our will and can end up feeling inadequate by comparison.
There are so many ways we can lose our peace. Yet, there is a peace that transcends understanding. It doesn’t make sense. It is consistently greater than anything that attempts to shake us. And that is the peace of God – the kind of peace I desire to have.
When our identity is rooted in who God says we are, our peace doesn’t depend on how anyone else perceives us. Opinions waver. People love you one day and despise you the next. Yet, when we know and are confident in who God says we are, we can choose a different posture. We can dwell on His words instead of man’s wavering opinions.
So if you are struggling to keep your peace today, doubting yourself or afraid of what others might think, stop! Renew your mind with who God says you are. Capture the negative thoughts by reminding yourself of these truths:
You are loved, you are gifted, capable and totally worth dying for! I once heard it put this way: “If no one else knows me, He still adores me.”
That’s all that matters.
Imagine 