Peace In Turmoil

Sometimes it’s the silence — nothing moves, doors stay shut, and prayers feel like they’re echoing back empty. Other times it’s the flood — everything hits at once, and you can’t tell which fire to put out first. Both are tests. Both are turmoil.

It’s been 10 years now, but it still feels like yesterday. Life happened all at once. I was involved in a catastrophic road traffic accident that left me with 45% disability. I lost my job because the company I worked for decided I was now irrelevant to them, because I was now incapacitated. My husband died on the spot. While I was still in hospital, our children were separated. I came out of hospital to a broken family and suffered rejection on every side.

Yet God had not rejected me.

I had the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. Philippians 4:7.

All at once: widowhood, unemployment, disability, homelessness, rejection. Remember, Peace isn’t the absence of the storm. Peace is what you carry into the storm.

I reminded myself, Christ in me is the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27. I didn’t have a solution to all my problems. Death had happened. I was wheelchair-bound, with broken limbs, broken hands, broken legs… even memory loss at some point. I had no choice but to be still.

Believe you me, stillness is a weapon. Psalm 46:10 doesn’t suggest, it commands, ☝️“Be still, and know that I am God.” Stillness in turmoil isn’t passivity. It’s defiance. It’s you figuring out the new narrative of your story. In stillness you hear clearly. In stillness you remember who holds the waters. In stillness I found the sanctuary of my heart — that quiet, guarded place where the world goes quiet and God goes loud.

I remained steadfast. I sought healing, both physical and emotional. I started physiotherapy. I thought of how I could help others walking through the same turmoil I was facing. Since I was physically incapacitated, I remembered I still had my voice. I joined Toastmasters and learned to use my voice to stand for others and inspire them. I realised that with my voice I could reach places my legs couldn’t. Thank God for technology.

I started GriefShare meetup sessions and found comfort knowing I was not alone. Together with others, we could do so much. Surely, disability is not inability. I realised I could still do the work I had lost – but this time as the company director. I registered an events, hospitality, and tour marketing company.

Instead of murmuring, whining, and wallowing in grief over disability and unemployment, I chose peace.

Peace is a decision before it’s a feeling. You don’t wait until the chaos clears to be calm. You choose it in the middle of the noise. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” A steadfast mind is a made-up mind. Peace starts when you decide who you’ll trust more, the chaos you see, or the God you know.

Anchors are built before the storm. Dolly Parton said it best – ‘Storms make trees take deeper roots’. The Word you’ve been feeding on, the prayers you’ve been praying, the worship you’ve been giving, that’s your root system. When turmoil comes, you find out how deep you are.

Peace is presence, not absence. Instead of wallowing in depression during turmoil, avail yourself to the things that bring you joy. To find comfort in grief for my departed husband, I did the things he loved most — the things he loved doing with me. He was an avid golfer, so I started a tournament in his name. I bought a trophy and made it an annual event where his friends can gather and play in his memory.

To ground myself in faith and prayer, I made myself available on the Global Intercessors prayer platform, the best decision I’ve ever made. No matter what life throws at me. I know someone will be praying for me, someone or I would have prayed.

Jesus never promised us a life without trouble. He promised us Himself in it. “My peace I give you… Do not let your hearts be troubled.” John 14:27. His peace doesn’t mean your situation is calm. It means You – Are, because He’s With You in it.

My brother, my sister, if you’re in turmoil right now — whether it’s the waiting or the whirlwind — let this be your declaration:

I am not ruled by what I see. I am steadfast,I am still, I am anchored. I carry peace because I carry Him. I live from the sanctuary of my heart where God dwells. The storm will pass, but the One in me remains. I will not break here. I will root deeper here. Christ in me, the hope of glory. His Spirit is at work within me. In Him I move, I live, and have my being. Acts 17:28. I am a messenger of peace.

Pray

Lord, in the middle of this turmoil, be my center. When everything is loud, tune my heart to Your whisper. Lead me into the sanctuary of my heart, where You are. When nothing is moving, teach me to trust your timing. For I know that in the fullness of time You make all things beautiful. Ecclesiastes 3:11. Keep me in perfect peace as my mind stays on You. I know when the time is right, you will make it happen. Isaiah 60:22. May Your peace, which surpasses all understanding, be upon me in this turmoil.

Amen.