In times of war we often hear people saying they want peace. And yes, it would be great if wars were to stop.But I have to wonder if no war equates to peace. If you think long and hard about it a person can have their own wars raging within. They can have family issues, financial struggles, job concerns, etc. And any one of these things can rob you of your peace if you aren't careful. Drama situations really have a way of doing that; making you fret about what someone did or didn't do, what they said or didn't say. It's kind of funny though, many times the very ones causing you the most turmoil think very little about what it is you're feeling. They are out there living their lives without a care in the world. With all this in mind, how then can we live at peace in the midst of trials?
As I was meditating on some scriptures regarding peace I could see that the first thing we need to ensure peace is Christ. He alone offers us hope for something better. He has suffered all that we do and has shown us that we can make it through the trials unscathed when our trust and our hope for our future is in the right place. That means our trust isn't in what we see in the natural, but rather, in what God has promised. In order to know what it is that God has promised we need to be in His word. Psalm 119:165 says: "Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble." So ask yourself, "Do I love his law? Am I spending time meditating it?"If you can answer yes to those questions, you will be able to stand in the midst of the trials. And you will be able to look beyond the here and now. In other words, you can believe that these trials are temporary. Another clue about peace is found in Philippians 4:6-8 which says: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." It is highly important to rejoice in the Lord even when facing difficult situations. It will help you not to be anxious, and when you aren't anxious you will feel much more at peace. Present your requests to God, with thanksgiving. You can trust that God knows what you're going through, and even though we may not always get the answer we'd like, we can believe that all things will eventually work together for good to those who love him. Trust is essential. No matter how things turn out in this world, we have a hope for a better future. That future will be spent in heaven with Jesus. That alone is reason for rejoicing. And that should offer us some peace. Then we come to the part about our thought life. People who aren't at peace tend to be drawn to think about the negative things. So the key here would be to replace those negative thoughts with more pleasant ones. Replace the lies of the enemy with the truth of God's word. Instead of seeing the bad in the situation, see the good. Find reasons to praise God. It shouldn't be too difficult if you open your eyes to all that He has blessed you with.
The Bible speaks a lot about peace and being peacemakers. As I thought about it, I thought how forgiveness would have to play a role in living a life of peace. Much of our lack of peace comes from offense. Someone did something to hurt us and we play it over and over again in our heads. What we may not realize is that, with every replay of the incident we only make matters worse. And it lessens our peace considerably. Forgiveness is not always an easy thing. Believe me, I know this from my own experience. But it is a choice that we make in obedience to Christ. As we continue choosing to forgive even when we don't feel like it (and we don't see any apparent change) there comes a time when we will see that we have truly forgiven the person who offended us. A friend of mine used to tell me to pray for the person who hurt you. And I'm not talking about praying they get hit by a truck or some stupid thing like that. Pray for them to be blessed. Pray good things for them. It's hard to be mad at someone you're praying for.
There is so much more I can say on the subject of peace, but I am growing tired. I will try to get back to this topic another day. Maybe I'll dig up all of those scriptures regarding peace. If for some reason I don't, let me encourage you to do some digging on the subject. I am sure it would benefit you greatly.
Until next time...
~jan~
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