Counsel #26 — Belly buttons and Peace

Picture: Counsel #26 — Belly buttons and PeaceCMH 28.1

Some religious practices encourage finding your center just below your belly button—focusing on your body to find peace. The idea is to focus on yourself, on your own core, to find stillness. But if we choose Jesus to be our Divine Center, our inner peace will be consistent instead of vacillating with circumstances.^{[31]Philippians 4:11}CMH 28.2

This isn’t a peace you have to conjure yourself or find by focusing on your own abilities. Instead, it’s a gift that flows from a relationship with God. The peace the Bible talks about holds firm even when everything else around you collapses.^{[32] https://adventistreview.org/the-word/living-above-circumstances/} The Holy Spirit completely changes the way you react to difficult situations. When your world is falling apart, your joy doesn’t have to crumble with it. While you may still face pain and have struggles, God’s Spirit gives you the ability to respond—not with anxiety but with a deep, settled peace. This peace endures in the presence of any storm, because God is in the middle of it.^{[33] https://record.adventistchurch.com/2024/11/13/calmness-in-the-storm/} CMH 28.3

“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” Psalms 119:165 NKJVCMH 28.4

“Words cannot describe the peace and joy possessed by him who takes God at His word. Trials do not disturb him, slights do not vex him.” Ellen White in The Faith I Live By, p. 226CMH 28.5

Reflect: In what ways have you experienced your own peace wavering based on what’s happening around you?CMH 28.6