How hungry for peace are you? Sometimes our lives go at such a pace for so long we do not remember what real peace is. Most people are hungry for peace. I don’t think I know anyone who really wants to be on edge with other people and circumstances. Though, sometimes it seems like it is easier to be angry when things are not going the way we want them to. When we bottle up our opinions we can hurt ourselves, or we can spewing them out, usually hurting others. The result of both of these options is far from peaceful.
We can blame others for what we do not like. Or we can go the opposite direction, by taking too much responsibility for things that are not actually ours to take, all in an attempt to keep the peace. (Was real peace there to keep in the first place?) The later only creates stifled anguish eventually leading to despair which is also far from peace. But The Bible gives us help to pull us back to authentic peace, if we are willing.
This conditional promise is a powerful. “When people’s lives please the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them.” Proverbs 16:7 So I can do something to cause the my enemies to be at peace with me. That is the good news. The tough news is that I will almost certainly have to make some adjustments in my life for that to happen. Heavy Sigh!
The good news is we are not abandoned to our own devises. God promises to lead us to peace: “You [God] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” Isaiah 26:3 So we all we have to do is shift our thinking from the things that we allow to steal our peace, to the God who promises peace.
In Romans 12:2 Paul explains how we can please God, which is the key to making even our enemies to be at peace with us: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
So we have things we can do, but there is more good news, it is not completely up to us. We have access to the Holy Spirit as our power source to make up for what we lack on our own. Paul closes his letter to the Romans with this encouraging prayer. “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13
Are you hungry enough to begin to refocus? Abba, forgive us for losing focus. Thank you for your peace that passes all understanding. Each of us has different distractions keeping us from that perfect peace in our lives. Thank you in advance for taking each of us one step at a time in renewing our minds. We are grateful for your patience and persistence in calling us into trust, joy & peace. Teach us to please you and reap the rewards you promise. Amen
