Peace Within the Chaos

If you have lived any length of time, then you have observed the type of person who seems to have the world around them completely falling apart, yet they're able to hold it together. They keep a smile on their face.  They have a positive outlook on everything.  They continue to show up.  They don’t wane on any of their commitments.  They refuse to give up.  Have you observed someone like that? Have you ever wondered how they are able to maintain despite their circumstances? If you’re anything like me, you probably thought to yourself, “If it were me I would have completely fallen apart by now.” Well maybe, but maybe not. When you have the peace of Christ, you can have everything around you crashing to the ground yet you will remain anchored to God's truth no matter what. So how does one obtain this peace?  By receiving Jesus.

I am a firm believer that everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the Bible, is there because God knew we would need it.  That means we can’t pick and choose what we will follow, what we will ignore, what we will obey, or what we can disregard.  We need it all.  Part of Jesus’ mission while he was here on Earth was to teach his disciples and all those he came in contact with, how to live the best life possible.  To demonstrate this, He shared many life lessons in the Bible found in 1) the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7),  2) the many parables within the Word (in each of the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and 3) the teachings on the fruit of the spirit.

Of all of the words in the English language, God chose nine words that encompass the fruit of the Spirit, and peace is one of those words.  (Galatians 5:22-23) To be peaceful is to reflect the spirit of God.  When you are known as a peacemaker, you will also be known as a child of God (Matthew 5:9) One of the gifts that was given to us as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary was the promise of the Holy Spirit.  (John 14:15-17)  For Believers, the Holy Spirit’s ability to step in, take over, and give us power that we would not have otherwise, is truly life saving. Paul tells us in Philippians that when we pray about everything and refuse to be anxious about this or that, the peace of God which exceeds all understanding will guard our hearts and minds. (Philippians 4:6-7) That is such a wonderful promise.  Additionally we must get ourselves to a place in our spiritual walk that we focus on the spirit rather than things of this world.  To fully understand how to obtain God's peace, study peace in the word and meditate on what God says about the matter:  

• For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6)
• God is not a God of confusion, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33)
• Turn away form evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14) 
• Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter 3:11)
• Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble (Psalm 119:165)

 
I understand that living a life of peace may be a "hard"; But thanks to Jesus, and all he means to humanity, hard is not impossible. (John 16:33)  Are you questioning rather or not you should take the peaceful route?  Maybe you are in constant contact with people who are always causing confusion.  Maybe there is someone in your life who you just can’t get on even ground with.  All of these are the ideal situations in which we should tap into God’s peace , remembering that God is always in control, and he is always working things out for our good. (Romans 8:28) Where there is peace, God is there.  And when God is here, we can’t lose!!

References
Tyndale House Foundation. (1996, 2004, 2015). Holy Bible, New Living Translation. Carol Stream, Illinois. All rights reserved.: Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.