At Peace amidst Turmoil?
A Tim Keller Sermon Summary
Imagine you are sick, you need money to pay rent, and suddenly you’re fired. Or, in a yacht in the Pacific, you are hit by a huge storm with 40-foot waves. Can you still be at peace?
In Psalm 3, David’s enemies greatly outnumbered his. They assailed him on every side. Yet David could rest and sleep without fear.
How do we manage this?
We often feel anxious when we desperately work towards certain goals without achieving them. We try hard to defend and prove ourselves but often fall short.
Our environment also causes anxiety. In “The Trial,” Frank Kafka describes a man accused of a crime that can not be defined. Initially, assuming the world a rational place and he a decent person, he thought he would be released. But he was executed. The world is not rational. In the words of Sigmund Freud, “Most people are trash.”
How can we find peace?
First, we must accept that we are in a very bad shape.
We constantly fail in following the two biggest commandments: loving God with all of our hearts and loving others as ourselves. We often fall short of the same metrics we judge others with (Romans 2:14).
We must accept our failures. By our effort, we could never be accepted by God (Hebrews 4:10).
Don’t seek rest in your accomplishments, relationships, wealth, or abilities. All these things could change overnight. How can we rest on something that constantly changes? How can you sleep on a bed that keeps moving?
Instead, rely on Christ. Rely on what He has done for us (Hebrews 4:10).
David could rest because he depended on God. He didn’t find his glory in his power or wealth, but in God alone (Psalms 3:3).
To conclude, if we want to be at peace and still strive even in very difficult situations, we must depend on Christ and let God be our glory.
Summarized from a Tim Keller’s sermon, titled, “How to be at peace, yet strive”:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/entering-his-rest-4th-5057/
In Psalm 3, David’s enemies greatly outnumbered his. They assailed him on every side. Yet David could rest and sleep without fear.
How do we manage this?
We often feel anxious when we desperately work towards certain goals without achieving them. We try hard to defend and prove ourselves but often fall short.
Our environment also causes anxiety. In “The Trial,” Frank Kafka describes a man accused of a crime that can not be defined. Initially, assuming the world a rational place and he a decent person, he thought he would be released. But he was executed. The world is not rational. In the words of Sigmund Freud, “Most people are trash.”
How can we find peace?
First, we must accept that we are in a very bad shape.
We constantly fail in following the two biggest commandments: loving God with all of our hearts and loving others as ourselves. We often fall short of the same metrics we judge others with (Romans 2:14).
We must accept our failures. By our effort, we could never be accepted by God (Hebrews 4:10).
Don’t seek rest in your accomplishments, relationships, wealth, or abilities. All these things could change overnight. How can we rest on something that constantly changes? How can you sleep on a bed that keeps moving?
Instead, rely on Christ. Rely on what He has done for us (Hebrews 4:10).
David could rest because he depended on God. He didn’t find his glory in his power or wealth, but in God alone (Psalms 3:3).
To conclude, if we want to be at peace and still strive even in very difficult situations, we must depend on Christ and let God be our glory.
Summarized from a Tim Keller’s sermon, titled, “How to be at peace, yet strive”:
https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/entering-his-rest-4th-5057/