Presented by PeaceSpeaks.earth
TODAY’S PASSAGE
From “Voice Of Jesus 2” by Michael Canfield:
I officially left the military and returned to civilian life. The world I came back to felt unfamiliar. In the four years I had been away, a cultural shift had taken hold. San Francisco, which I still considered home, had become a center of the counterculture movement. Hippies, flower children, marijuana, LSD — the search for peace and escape was everywhere, especially in Haight-Ashbury. I had seen enough danger in Vietnam. I wanted something different. I tried to approach this new world with a clear mind, but I also wanted to belong. Old friends introduced me to marijuana. Alcohol was already part of my life, though I could not admit how deeply. Like many returning from war, I was trying to fit back in. The inner voice cautioned me that continued marijuana use could lead further away from clarity. I agreed to limit it. I told myself I didn’t like the loss of control that sometimes came with it — and that anything stronger would destroy me. Even so, I felt displaced. My friends were immersed in the counterculture, but it wasn’t my path. I didn’t know where I belonged.
REFLECTION
There’s something deeply human about the tension Michael describes here—the pull between wanting to belong and knowing deep inside that certain paths aren’t meant for us. He returned from war seeking peace, only to find a world offering escape instead. And there’s a profound difference between the two. Peace settles us into truth. Escape pulls us away from it. How many of us have stood at that same crossroads, feeling the pressure to conform to what everyone around us is doing, while a quiet voice within whispers a different direction?
What strikes me most is Michael’s honesty about that inner voice. He heard it. He recognized its wisdom. Yet he also felt the weight of displacement, of not knowing where he belonged. This is the struggle of faith in real time—not a dramatic moment of clarity, but the daily choice to listen to love’s guidance even when it isolates us from the crowd. The inner voice didn’t condemn him for his struggles with alcohol or his experimentation with marijuana. It simply cautioned him, like a loving parent guiding a child away from danger. That’s how divine love works—not through shame, but through gentle, persistent truth.
Many of us carry this same sense of displacement. We look around at what the world celebrates, what our culture promotes, what our friends embrace—and we feel the dissonance. We know it’s not our path, but we don’t yet see clearly what is. This in-between space is sacred ground. It’s where we learn to trust the inner voice more than the outer noise. It’s where we discover that belonging to love matters more than belonging to any movement, any group, or any temporary comfort. Michael’s journey reminds us that feeling lost is often the first step toward being found.
THIS SPEAKS TO ME BECAUSE…
How often do we seek escape when what we really need is peace? Where in your life are you hearing that inner voice of caution or guidance—and what would it look like to trust it today, even if it means standing apart from the crowd?
GET THE BOOK
This passage is from “Voice Of Jesus 2” by Michael Canfield — a profound journey into love, faith, and the voice of the divine.
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“To remind the world that Jesus is Love — and that love is the guide to a life fully lived.”