July 31 – Peace that Passes Understanding
When we are at peace, we trust that all things are unfolding according to divine purpose. Thomas Keating
Gregg’s Reflection
There are moments in life when peace simply cannot be explained. The circumstances say we should be anxious, afraid, or undone, yet something deeper holds us steady. This peace does not come from our own efforts, but from God’s Spirit, guarding our hearts and minds in Christ.
At the beginning of my spiritual journey, my prayers often sounded more like attempts to manage or control my circumstances than to release them. Yet in times of real crisis, I discovered a quiet strength that carried me. It was not the absence of storms, but the presence of God in the midst of them.
The wonder of this peace is that it does not always change what is happening around us, but it changes us within it. Trusting God doesn’t erase the storm, but it anchors us in a deeper reality.
And when this peace takes root in us, it is never just for ourselves. The calm assurance of God radiates through our eyes, our words, and even our silence. Peace that passes understanding becomes a gift to the world.
Scripture
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
Psalm 29:11
I will listen to what the Lord God is saying; for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you.
Psalm 85:8
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
Ancient Quotes
Acquire interior peace and a multitude of men will find their salvation near you.
St. Seraphim of Sarov, A Russian Orthodox Saint
Our soul will finally become wise when she is quiet and peaceful. This is constant rest and security, if a person is freed from the continual storms and winds of this world.
St. Cyprian, in Bernard McGinn, Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism, p. 279
Modern Quotes
As a person ripens in unsayable intimacy to God, they ripen in a paradoxical way. They understand God as a presence that protects us from nothing, even as God sustains us in all things. God watches over us; it does not mean God prevents the tragic thing from happening, it means God is intimately hidden as a profound, tender sweetness that flows and carries us along in the intimate depths of the tragic thing itself.
James Finley
When we radiate the peace of Christ we are peacemakers, and then our peace action can witness to this inner peace. But without that inner peace our actions easily become instruments of the powers of war and destruction.
Henri Nouwen, Daily Devotion, 11/14/20
I have no words to express the ever fresh treasures of strength, of light, and of peace that are constantly made available to me by the fundamental vision of Christ in all things.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Heart of the Matter, p. 202
When we are at peace, we trust that all things are unfolding according to divine purpose.
Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart, p. 33
Journaling Prompts
- Recall a time when you experienced peace that could not be explained. What sustained you?
- Where in your life today do you most need this peace that surpasses understanding?
- How might you embody God’s peace for others—not through words, but through your presence?
- What practices help you remain grounded in peace when storms rise?
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 31 Reflection: The Peace of God/Joy