Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:06] Welcome back to another edition of the Weekday Podcast. You've probably said this phrase, I'm just gonna check one thing, and you know how it goes. You pick up your phone to check the weather, and 45 minutes later, you know everything about a stranger's kitchen renovation in another state. You've seen the before pictures, you have opinions about the backsplash, and somehow you feel worse than when you started. So what do you do? You scroll a little more to feel a little better. You've probably been there, haven't you? I've been there. That's counterfeit peace. On the first Easter night, the disciples hid behind a locked door, and Jesus walked right through it and said, peace be with you. But most of us don't have a literal dead bolt. Ours are a lot more comfortable. Pastor Chuck calls them counterfeit peace. It's the scroll. It's the Amazon cart. At 11 at night, it's staying busy so you never have to sit still. It's needing to win the argument. It's needing to know how everything turns out. And every one of those feels like peace for an hour. And here's the funny thing about a deadbolt. We lock it because we think it keeps trouble out. But mostly, it keeps it in.
[00:01:11] It keeps it in.
[00:01:13] Now, this kind of peace that Jesus gives is not as the world gives. The night before the cross, Jesus told his friends in John 14, he said, Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives. Do I give to you do. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. Not as the world gives. The world gives peace. Like a sedative, it numbs the feeling. But Jesus gives peace. Like a foundation, it holds the weight. Pastor Chuck has this great line that I can't quit thinking about. He says, relief wants the feeling gone, but peace wants the soul grounded. And there's one lock that's sneakier than all the other locks. Two little words.
[00:01:53] It's fine. Chuck calls this false peace. Avoid it stressed up as calm. And we can go years saying it's fine about something that is absolutely not fine. So today, name your lock. What is that lock? What do you reach for when life gets loud? Is it your phone? Is it your work? Food? Shopping? Another episode control?
[00:02:16] It's fine.
[00:02:17] You don't have to throw it all out today.
[00:02:19] But try trading one question for another instead of asking, what will make this feeling stop? Ask what will help me become whole? So here's your practice for today. The next time you feel yourself reaching for the lock. Pause for one breath, just one, and name it out loud if you can, and say, that's my lock. And then pray five words. Jesus, come in here instead. And if you catch yourself 10 times a day, you're not failing, you noticing is the first unlock. Relief. It wants the feeling gone. Peace wants the soul grounded. Now, tomorrow we're going to the return counter. You know the five scariest words in retail? Do you have a receipt? Turns out Jesus walked into a locker room carrying a receipt of his own. And it changes everything about whether you have to earn your peace. Have a great day. We'll see you back tomorrow.
