The Divine Exchange: Trading Your Plans for God’s PurposeSample

The Peace That Replaces Striving

For years, I thought peace was something you earned — the reward for ticking every box on God’s to-do list. If I prayed hard enough, worked long enough, and served enough, surely peace would appear like a certificate of good behaviour. It didn’t.

When I closed my business, I didn’t gain peace immediately; I gained panic. I wondered how we’d survive, what people would think, and whether I’d misheard God entirely. Every day, I tried to make peace happen — by over-praying, overthinking, and occasionally over-snacking. (Don’t judge me; it was a tough season.)

Then while reading Philippians 4:7, it hit me — peace isn’t the prize for performance; it’s the product of surrender. I didn’t need to earn it; I needed to allow it. The same hands that took my business were now holding my future.

When I stopped striving, peace snuck in quietly — not through circumstances, but through trust. It didn’t change the bills or the calendar, but it changed me. I no longer needed to have all the answers; I just needed to know the Answer was still with me.

Lesson
Peace isn’t found in control but in release. It’s not the absence of storms but the assurance of His presence within them. When you let go of striving, you make room for stillness — and in that stillness, you’ll find that God’s peace doesn’t just visit; it settles.