Remember that day in January 2018 when Hawaiians were notified to “seek immediate shelter” from an incoming ballistic missile? The event caused mass panic on the islands and alarmed friends and family members all over the world.
And actor Jim Carrey was there.
In a recent interview with Graham Norton, Carrey was pitching his book Memoirs and Misinformation, and he explained to Norton the odd photo on the front of the book.
“There was a missile alert in Hawaii a little while back and I was in Hawaii. My assistant Linda, who lives on the other side of the island called me crying,” Carrey recalled. “She said, ‘We have 10 minutes left, chief.’ And, ‘What should we do? The missiles are going to land.’”
Carrey continued, “And that picture on the front of my book is an accidental screen grab that she did because she was so tense. That’s my face when I believed I had 10 minutes left to live.”
Ten minutes left to live. Imagine. What would you do?
Carrey reflected, “I went into this time of the last 10 minutes. Then I sat down and this overwhelming sense of peace came over me and I started going over a list of gratitude for my life and everything that had happened.”
With about two minutes left to go, he closed his eyes and waited. Then suddenly a follow-up message declared that it was a mistake. “State Warning Point has issued a Missile Alert in ERROR! There is NO threat to the State of Hawaii!” the Honolulu police department wrote on their website.
And just like that, it was over.
A sense of gratitude is good. And if you have just ten minutes left, it’s much better to feel peaceful than to be in turmoil or to be afraid. But, even so, such “peace” is a feeling and, as Carrey said, a complete surprise. It’s unexpected. And that should tell you something.
Just because you feel peaceful doesn’t mean you have peace.
Feeling peaceful is tied to the circumstances. It comes and goes as the circumstances change, or the uncertainties of life intrude. I might feel peaceful on the beach one day but feel in turmoil on the same beach the next day. So even though feeling peaceful is good, we shouldn’t confuse it for the real thing.
Peace can be more than a feeling. It can be a fact. And facing death, it matters.
The Bible is clear that we have a problem. Sin. And sin has created a rift between us and our Creator. In fact, in the words of the Bible, we are at war with God—disobedient, rebellious, adversaries of the One who loves us the most. In that state our condition is, well, hopeless (Eph. 2:12).
To get back to Him requires that someone, somehow, forge peace between us. But try as we might, we cannot get to the other side of that rift. We cannot make peace. All of our efforts are futile. So, because of His love for us, God crossed that divide.
That’s why Christ came—to offer peace to all who would accept His conditions of surrender (Luke 2:14). As Paul said, “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). So, truthfully, Carrey’s “sense of peace” misses the point. Facing death his main concern should not be whether he feels peaceful, but whether he has peace with God.
If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, you are back into right relationship with God, reconciled to your Creator, and God Himself has eliminated that “enmity” between you (Eph. 2:16).
And now peace is a condition of this new relationship. And it doesn’t fade or flourish based on the situation. It’s resolute, firm, an anchor. Peace exists because it comes with God and His nature. And He never changes. We have peace because we know God in Jesus Christ (Phil. 4:9, Gal. 5:22).
So facing death, you don’t have to worry. You have peace with your Father.
But facing death is one thing. What about facing life?
Yeah. That too. See, God did not just want to end the war. He wanted to renew the relationship. So once you have accepted His terms of surrender, even if you feel anxious in difficult times or under surprising duress, you can be at peace. It’s a promise fulfilled by His presence in your life. Peace comes in knowing the truth. He promises He is with you, He will help you, and He will guide you. No matter the circumstances, you do not need to be afraid. “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).
It’s peace of mind. It’s that calm confidence that is more than an emotion. In all circumstances, and at all times. We have the peace of God because the God of peace is with us (Phil. 4:6-7). It’s strangely inexplicable but completely predictable and absolutely inexhaustible (Is. 26:3, Rom. 15:13).
So, have peace. Experience His presence. He is with you in times of loss, of trial, or of struggle. When finances crash, loved ones die, or relationships fall apart. And He never leaves.
So if you feel peaceful, that’s good. I am glad you do. But it matters more that you know Him, facing death or facing life. “My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful” (John 14:27).
That’s what it means to have peace. Do you?