We continue with wellness scenario #2…Living the life you’ve always wanted, you look around and wonder “is this all there is?” Life’s achievements and checking items off a to-do list aren’t as fulfilling as anticipated. You may wonder why God allows bad circumstances to happen to good people or how some can be content no matter their circumstance.
We know people who seem like they have it all figured out, yet still feel unsettled. Trying to fill the imagined hole in their life with a person, a consequence or other things of this world, they sense there is more. God and a relationship with Him is what they are missing.
Alternately, there are those who possess an unexplainable peace and calm, even in the midst of awful situations. You wonder how they can be at peace in the middle of life’s storms.
I just finished the book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It’s a long and winding road about former Olympian, Louis Zamperini. Enduring great hardship after his plane crashed and as a Japanese POW during WWII, he remained unbroken in spirit or by his captors. Perhaps the most unsettling part of the book for me was after he comes home. His life has been spared, he is surrounded by love, yet he remains haunted by his past. He can’t let it go, similar to our last scenario. He finally finds peace and the ability to move forward by finding a deeper relationship with God. His life is forever transformed.
God wants to transform all of our lives. See this month’s Bible study, Be Transformed, for a deeper look.
Louie’s life is a perfect example of what so many people long for- the peace and transformation of their lives that can only come through a relationship with God. Many may not even realize God’s peace is what they are searching for, but nothing else can compare. It truly is a peace that surpasses all understanding.
His peace is a knowing, a trust that no matter what happens, all will be ok. Even in the worst of circumstances, it’s a sense of well-being. Understanding no matter what you are experiencing or where you are, it is well in your soul. This is soul wellness.
God doesn’t want our lives to be about crossing things off of our to-do list, or just doing good deeds and achieving things of this world. He wants us to look up from ourselves, see Him, others and enjoy the life we are given-even the difficult parts.
Paul’s explanation in his letter to the Romans is as relevant today as when it was written: (Romans 5: 1, 3-5, 11)
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Paul reminds us-when we run into trials in this life, we develop endurance. We have peace through the redeeming blood of Jesus and God gives us the Holy Spirit to fill us with his love. Even if we don’t fully comprehend His presence, He’s there. He is with us and will see us through, just as He did for Louie and wants to do for you and me. 
Living this life by doing all the right things and checking things off our lists won’t bring true peace. True peace can only be found in God. Seek Him daily in prayer & the Bible to truly know Him. Look up, live the life He has planned for you and watch the transformation begin!