How to Have the Peace of God



With so many tragedies around us, we are in desperate need of a word from God as it relates to today's topic. The media is seemingly consumed by stories of mass murders, political unrest, daily and senseless violence, health scares, and many other generally bad reports.  There is a word from God that can calm the raging sea of worry that comes with being flooded with so much negativity. To know God is to know peace, but without God there is No peace.

What is peace? Peace can be defined as: the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is. We all have people we love right now who are in situations that cause us to be a little more than concerned. We know that it can’t always be that way.  Eventually circumstances will change, but, in the meantime, that moment of struggle may as well be an eternity. When faced with such circumstances, we tend to do the only thing we know to do, and that is let anxiety flood our hearts and minds. We are overly concerned about the things that are not going our way. The scoffer might say,”Can there really be peace? Is it realistic? Is it attainable?” This kind of questioning can rob us of our joy. But, this is also why we choose joy. JOY is what the Bible commands us to display in Philippians 4:4-9 and the following verses.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be anxious for nothing,

but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
Let your requests be made known to God;

7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
In this passage, peace is promised to us by God. God, who cannot lie, has promised the believer peace. Not only is peace promised, but there is also the promise that our hearts and minds will be guarded through Christ. Think of the goalie in soccer or hockey. If Jesus were the goalie, his teammates need only concentrate on scoring a goal. Why? Because with Jesus on guard, the opponents must get past him to score, and we know that's not possible. If He is guarding your hearts and minds then what could infiltrate your heart and mind that would lead you to worry?  The answer is in this command, “Be anxious for nothing!” Nothing?  Nothing.  Nothing! These are the levels of emotions we go through as we think on this grand idea about not having to worry. Let's move to the next verses.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever

things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever

things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything

praiseworthy-- meditate on these things.

9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me,

these do, and the God of peace will be with you
The peace of God is maintained when we continuously acknowledge the presence of God. Once we believe that God is always with us, then we can begin to think the thoughts that He would have us think. Those are all positive thoughts. However, compliance with the command to "meditate on these things" requires more than mere positive thinking. It means taking on a mindset that focuses on the things above. For example the things that are really noble, just, pure, lovely and praiseworthy are all things that come with focusing on God.

The peace of God is possible, but it is only possible when we have peace with God. Peace with God gives us access to the peace of God. Peace of God is promised and can be maintained by practice. If you have peace with God through Jesus you can have the peace of God in your life. You do not have to worry. Are you a worrier or a warrior? God does not want you to worry. He wants you to depend on Him and trust Him. God wants you to experience peace that is supernatural and not understood by the world. You must prioritize joy, humility, prayer and meditating on things that are praiseworthy. You must become a doer of the word and not only a hearer. The God of peace will be with you! Today, you must seek God for this peace, especially if you are worried at all that your trials are not His will for you.
 
Everett Pope
Image Courtesy of www.natestevens.net




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You Don't Know Their Story. What You Will See is God's Glory.

Image
  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. - Psalm 46:1 Let me tell you about a man, a woman, a child, this could be you, we don't know.   You don't know their story but what you will see is God's glory. Let me tell you about the pain, the hurt, the abuse they received from someone they knew, a family member, a friend, maybe even you. You don't know their story, what you will see is God's glory. Let me tell you about a man whom you may have heard of who Fed five thousand people, some who were children, with five loaves of bread and two fish. Remember the person who saw you and asked you for money to get something to eat saying: "can you help me please?" You don't know their story, what you will see is God's glory. You don't know who God will use to bless you. You don't know how God will use your story of what you went through but what you will see is God's glory. Let me tell you about the heart God gave you to ca
Read more

Holyween

Image
                                This year UBC will be celebrating Holyween. It’s probably obvious, but Holyween is supposed to be a more Christian friendly version of Halloween.  The name Halloween is a contracted version of the day’s original name All Hallow’s Eve . It started out simply as the day before a past Christian holiday named All Hallow’s Day (also known as Hallowmas). Interestingly enough, the word hallow means to honor as holy, so essentially, the titles Halloween and Holyween mean nearly the same thing.  So, what’s the purpose of even using the new name? Well, regardless of what the name Halloween actually means, the holiday's complicated history has taken it far from its holy beginnings. At best, it has become a commercially supported holiday meant to give kids a little fun but mostly sell a lot of candy and costumes. At worst, it’s become a day to celebrate darkness, evil, and the worst parts of the human experience. As with most holidays, Halloween is really
Read more

Love Not Like

Image
As Christians, we must never forget how important love is. Christianity truly is a religion of love. You can probably judge how much a person adheres to the Faith by how loving they actually are. The Bible is clear on this. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 says: 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. For anyone who has read the Bible, this should be an amazing pass
Read more