Peace

This question was once asked,  “If you could choose what you want most in life, what would you ask for?”  The most common answer was “Peace.”

People want peace in their marriages, families, workplaces, country and world.  Our country has some of the best medical and psychological treatment centers,  highest educational institutions and worldwide communication abilities.  Yet with all of these things, most people are yet without true inner peach.  The results are devastating… broken marriages, split families, hatred, rebellion, financial anxiety, a country unsettled. 

The world will offer you peace through many forms of escapism… drugs, alcohol, immoral relationships, and constant entertainment.  It is sought through all forms of pleasure, self-satisfaction and positive thinking.  Many believe that peace is defined as the absence of trouble.  They refuse to face the problems in their lives believing that this is finding peace.  The world, however, has never held the answer to true peace. 

You can choose to have true peace.  True peace comes not from man but from God.  This peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5:22. 

This peace means to be in harmony with God, to be bound, joined and woven together with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.  It also means to be assured of, confident of and secure in the love and care of God.  There is a consciousness and a sure trust God will provide, guide, strengthen, sustain, encourage, deliver and save completely those who seek Him with all their hearts.  This supernatural peace must come first and foremost from receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.  Second, it comes from a knowledge of and a love for God’s Word.

The Apostle Paul knew this peace.  He suffered greatly because of his love for the Lord, love for God’s truth and because of his commitment to the commission given to him by Jesus Christ.  Yet in all this, his heart was kept in perfect peace.

He had been imprisoned, stoned, left for dead and scourged by the Romans, and yet he said in Romans 8: 28, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”   Note the conditions of knowing God’s peace: 1.) You must love God, and 2.) You must be called according to His purpose, which means fitting into His plan and into His perfect will for you so you can be “… conformed to the likeness of His Son.” (Romans 8: 29)

Most reject God’s peace because they surrender to their own selfishness and their lust for the pleasures of this world. Jesus said,  “Peace I leave with you.  My peace I give you.”  A legacy of inner peace is offered to all who know Jesus Christ, regardless of their circumstances. 

In these days of uncertainty and distress, will you receive Jesus Christ into your life? He is the Giver of eternal life and the Prince of Peace!