It is said that we can never fully appreciate a wonderful blessing until we know what it is to be without it. We only need to look around at the world to see how the absence of God’s peace has devastated entire nations. But even though things may be in a state of upheaval and confusion around us, through the Holy Spirit, we can have peace in our lives. Indeed our Heavenly Father wants us to be peacemakers and not peace-breakers, but one of the things we find out very early in our Christian lives is that although we may want to have peace with everyone, not everyone wants to have peace with us. It isn’t a secret that our work as peacemakers will not be done until he returns. It is not always easy work, but whether it’s a small matter in our families or church communities, or a crisis on our jobs or in any other aspect of our lives, we must learn to navigate conflict in a way that brings God’s peace.
In Philippians 4:8-9(NLT), God tells us through the Apostle Paul, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” The first thing that you and I should know about peace is that God is a God of Peace. Our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Prince of Peace, and of course one of the Holy Spirit’s fruit is peace. There can be no doubt in our minds that peace must be a way of life for the believer. However, you and I don’t always think thoughts or express feelings of peace, but Philippians 4:8-9 makes it very clear that this should be our goal.
Romans 5:1(NLT) tells us, “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, God has made peace with us. This is a very huge deal, because since Adam’s and Eve’s fall, we have been quite the rowdy bunch. In the Old Testament, God’s people started worshiping idol gods—statues and monuments made from their hands. They began worshiping the creation rather than worshiping the Creator of all. Today, this practice continues.
The gift of intelligence that God has graciously provided has allowed us to come up with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets. We have modern conveniences never dreamed of even just 50 short years ago. And with these things, we’ve carved out new idols to worship. We’ve abandoned love’s way and took to self-indulgence. This has led us down avenues that are shockingly surprising and dark. God knew that we would face such a time as this, yet, He lovingly pours out His peace on and through us. He has commanded and appointed us to allow this peace to have place in our lives, and to in turn pour it on others. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:9(NIV), “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” He enables us, as His children, to be peacemakers. Making peace should be the trademark of every believer in Christ.
In order to make peace, we have to stay in the face of the Lord through prayer and meditation, and we must also study His Word diligently. Staying spiritually close to God helps us to exercise the spirit of discipline and self-control. These are very important, because again, people are not always peaceful, and many of them have made chaos and confusion a way of life. It is inevitable that we will be confronted with those who will seek to challenge our stand, but we must resist the temptation to react negatively, because God will always stand with us when we stand for peace. Romans 2:9-11(NIV) tells us, “9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.”For those who do evil, trouble will follow them, but peace will follow those who do good.
The Holy Spirit’s produces the fruit of peace in us as we continue to grow in Christ and follow his example. We cannot allow daily situations and circumstances to reign over our lives and dictate our emotions. Peace is manifested by letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide us. Yes, sometimes peace is a huge battle that takes place in our minds and hearts. We know that we should remain level-headed through conflicts, even when someone is bringing all kinds of non-sense in our faces, but we let our emotions get the better of us sometimes. This is when we have to do as the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:9 and put into practice what we’ve learned from our blessed Lord and Savior. He is the ultimate peacemaker, and it wasn’t because he was soft or passive. He is the Prince of Peace because he trusted God at all times in all situations. Jesus Christ allowed the peace of God to reign supreme over his life, and when it all boils down to it, this is what you and I must be committed to do as well. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Choosing God’s Peace”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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