HI Faith Travelers,
Have you ever wondered how some people are able to remain so calm in the midst of chaos? I used to wonder the same until I met Jesus Christ. Thats not to say that I have mastered the concept of being at peace when things around me are in disarray. That’s to say that I have been able to stand on the promise of God’s perfect peace (See Isaiah 26:3) that He freely gives as we keep our focus on Him versus the chaos.
In John 14:27, God’s word says “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” God is saying that He has given peace to His children, those who believe in Him; a peace that is unlike peace of this world. This peace is so supernaturally potent that even when things are falling apart, there a peace that the believers of God have, trusting and knowing that He will work everything out for their good (See Romans 8:28).
I have the honor and privilege of featuring someone in my life who has been one of the greatest living examples of walking in the Peace of God, Tiffany Patrick. She’s been apart of a few of the faith testimonies that I have shared about myself here; standing with and supporting me in the midst of my own trials. Today one of my closest friends will be sharing with The Faith Travels one of her own faith testimonies and lessons on The Values of Peace.
Here is Her Story…
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Peace in the Middle of Chaos
Discovering God’s faithfulness when life feels anything but peaceful
I had never seen my mother look like that.
Her hair was disheveled, her breathing was labored, and the steady sounds of hospital equipment filled the room. The superhero I had always known to be particular about her appearance lay in a hospital bed, struggling to breathe.
She had been diagnosed with double pneumonia. Her oxygen levels were dangerously low, and the doctors were still determining the most effective treatment. Each day brought another complication, another unanswered question, another reason for concern.
I had traveled from Florida to Illinois after receiving increasingly troubling updates. But hearing that someone you love is seriously ill and seeing it for yourself are two very different things.
As I approached her bedside, she opened her eyes, lifted her hand, and gave me a small wave.
“Hey, Mom. I’m here.”
I don’t remember everything I said that night, but I remember what I did next. I combed her hair. Then I noticed how dry her feet were and reached for some lotion.
I couldn’t make the pneumonia disappear, increase her oxygen levels, or provide answers the doctors were still searching for. I couldn’t change the fact that larger medical centers had no available hospital beds.
But I could comb her hair, put lotion on her feet, sit beside her, pray over her, and remind her she wasn’t alone. And somehow, in a room filled with uncertainty, I experienced something that didn’t quite match the circumstances.
Peace.
Not because everything was okay. Not because I knew how the story would end. But because I knew God was there and trusted Him with the details.
First, let me tell you exactly how I found myself in this storm. A week before Thanksgiving, I had been traveling for work. The weather was perfect, I was operating in my gifts and sharing this little light of mine with entrepreneurs in Bermuda, when my mother called to say she wasn’t feeling well. She thought she might have bronchitis and was going to the hospital.
By the following day, she sounded noticeably worse. Doctors diagnosed pneumonia but were still determining the appropriate treatment. By the third day, she could barely hold a conversation without struggling to breathe.
I knew I needed to get home.
As I traveled back to the United States, I prayed a specific prayer. I asked God to spare my mother’s life, preserve her, and restore her health so she could continue declaring His goodness, grace, healing power, and glory.
I didn’t know what I would find when I arrived. But I knew who I was trusting.
I’ve learned that peace isn’t always a feeling of calm. Sometimes circumstances are frightening. Your mind races through possibilities and decisions. You feel the weight of what could happen.
Yet beneath those emotions, there can be a settled assurance that God is faithful. Peace is not the absence of trouble. It is the assurance of God’s presence in the middle of it.
Peace Is a Promise
Isaiah 26:3 says: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” (KJV)
I love that scripture because it doesn’t promise perfect circumstances. It promises perfect peace. And there’s a difference. During my mother’s hospitalization, the circumstances were anything but perfect. She required significant oxygen support, her blood oxygen levels fluctuated, and her recovery was slow.
But God’s faithfulness wasn’t dependent on the numbers on a monitor, the availability of a hospital bed, or the medical team’s ability to provide answers. His faithfulness was rooted in who He is. I had entrusted my mother to Him. As much as I wanted everything resolved immediately, I recognized that I had to trust Him through the process.
Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us to bring everything to God through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. I was praying and pleading with God with all the faith I could muster in the midst of the storm.
The passage describes God’s peace, which surpasses understanding, guarding our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. That peace doesn’t mean we have all the answers. It means we have access to the One who does.
And that assurance was enough to keep moving forward.
Peace Is a Practice
I learned that peace isn’t simply something we receive. It’s something we must intentionally walk in.
Every day, I had choices. I could rehearse everything going wrong or remind myself of God’s promises. I could let difficult updates consume my thoughts or bring my concerns back to Him.
Please read me clearly—choosing peace didn’t mean ignoring medical realities. Quite the opposite. I asked questions, spoke with nurses and doctors, coordinated care, and advocated for my mother. I prayed, meditated on healing scriptures, spoke life over her body, and prayed for wisdom for her medical team.
The morning after I arrived, I encouraged my mother to get out of bed and sit in the chair. She didn’t have to stay long. She just needed to sit up. We opened the blinds, letting sunlight fill the room. I combed her hair again. We celebrated small victories. Eventually, her oxygen needs decreased. Physical therapy became part of her routine. Little by little, bit by bit, moment by moment, she regained strength. There was no single moment when everything became easy. Just progress, one day at a time.
I’ve learned that sometimes peace looks less like sitting still and more like faithfully doing the next thing God has placed in front of you.Praying again. Showing up again. Asking another question. Offering encouragement. Believing God is working, even when progress seems painfully slow.
Peace as a practice means continually bringing our fears and expectations back into alignment with God’s character. Not because we never feel afraid, but because we refuse to let fear have the final word.
Peace Doesn’t Mean You Won’t Cry
After nearly two weeks in intensive care, my mother improved enough to move to a regular hospital room. She regained strength, worked with physical therapy, and eventually met the requirements for discharge. Because she wasn’t comfortable returning home alone, we searched for a rehabilitation facility. After weeks of uncertainty, we finally had a plan.
Then, a day before her discharge, she tested positive for COVID.
I was overwhelmed. Every time we cleared one hurdle, another appeared. I was physically and emotionally exhausted from managing details, communicating updates, and anticipating what might happen next. And I cried.
I called my best friend, Kesha, and poured out my frustration. She invited me over, and we spent an evening eating pizza and ice cream, laughing, and watching comedy shows. Nothing elaborate—just a safe place to rest.
Looking back, that was another expression of God’s faithfulness. He didn’t just provide strength for me to care for my mother. He provided someone to care for me. Sometimes God’s provision looks like medical professionals with the wisdom to treat an illness. And sometimes it looks like a friend, a pizza, and a safe place to fall apart.
Peace and pain can coexist. Peace as a feeling may fluctuate. We get tired and overwhelmed. But peace as a promise remains anchored in God’s character, and peace as a practice brings us back to Him.
My tears didn’t mean I had stopped trusting God. His faithfulness met me in my exhaustion.
The Faithfulness of God in the Details
My mother spent approximately a month in the hospital. What began as pneumonia became weeks of intensive care, uncertainty, COVID, and complicated discharge planning.
But God continued to provide. We arranged for a medical bed, reorganized her home, and coordinated visiting nurses, home health support, and physical therapy. Things that once seemed impossible began coming together. Not according to our original (or my desired) timeline. Not always as I envisioned. But provision after provision, God made a way.
His faithfulness wasn’t limited to my mother’s improving health. It was evident in compassionate nurses, professionals helping us navigate discharge, supportive friends, and strength for each new day.
God was present in the breakthrough and the waiting. In the hospital room and around the dinner table. He was faithful through all of it.
The Miracle of Being Kept
On New Year’s Eve, after nearly six weeks away, I finally returned to Jacksonville. Despite multiple canceled flights, I was determined to welcome the new year in church. I made it to watch night service, found a seat toward the back, and simply sat in God’s presence.
I didn’t need to be seen or acknowledged.
I just wanted to thank Him. For preserving my mother’s life. For every person He sent to help. For the resources, wisdom, strength, and provision that carried us through. And for the peace that sustained me.
As I reflected, I recognized that the greatest gift wasn’t simply that my mother had made it home. It was the faithfulness of God.
Even in this situation, He was working in and through me, teaching and modeling peace in the middle of the storm. He showed me that peace is sometimes a feeling – a quiet assurance that settles over us. But feelings fluctuate with circumstances. When life is going well, we feel peaceful. When uncertainty comes, that feeling may disappear.
The peace Jesus offers is different. Peace is a promise – a gift grounded in His presence, independent of our circumstances. And peace is a practice – a daily decision to trust His character, remain anchored in His Word, and surrender what we cannot control.
Perhaps you’re facing your own chaos – a medical crisis, financial uncertainty, a difficult relationship, grief, or an unanswered prayer. I can’t promise how or when your circumstances will change. But I can encourage you to look for God’s faithfulness, even in the smallest details.
You don’t have to have everything figured out or pretend you’re not afraid. And you don’t have to wait until the chaos ends to experience His peace. Bring your concerns to Him again and again (and again, if needed). Because sometimes the miracle isn’t only what God brings us out of. Sometimes the miracle is how faithfully He keeps us while we’re going through it – and that is peace in the middle of chaos.
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I pray Tiffany’s message has blessed you just as much as it has blessed me for the very season I am in. My hope is that this message echos in your spirit when chaos arises and you remember that Peace is God’s promise and you need only to make the decision to trust that He will do what He promised when you surrender it all to Him.
Until the next Faith Traveler Feature…
Interested in connecting with Tiffany and the learning more about what God is doing through her ministry; email her at tnspsolutions@gmail.com.
To be a part of the movement, share your own faith journey Here!
