Dave’s Monday Blast – August 30, 2021
Last week we began a discussion on why Peace is so elusive. We were not talking about the absence of war or turmoil, but an inner peace that produces a calm sense of well-being. That spirit of tranquility comes easily when all is going well, but then it evaporates quickly when your circumstances change. Use your search engine and look up the old song “It Well With My Soul” and take a few minutes to read it a few times.
In Greek the word for “peace” in the New Testament derives from a verb that means “to join,” and that’s exactly what it does. Through Christ, three areas separated by sin are reconciled. We must think of peace as a three-legged stool. Here are the legs:
1. Peace with God. This first leg is reconciliation with God. We are all born sinful and alienated from the Lord, and according to (Isaiah 48:22), “There is no peace for the wicked.” But God took the initiative to bring us back into a relationship with Himself. He did this by sending His Son to die on the cross, thereby bearing the penalty for our sins. If we will trust in Christ for forgiveness and reconciliation, we’ll have peace with God (Romans 5:1). Instead of being His enemies, we become His beloved children, who are joined Him via an unbreakable bond.
2. Peace of God. Once we’ve been reconciled to the Father through faith in Christ, we can then have the second leg of threefold peace, the peace of God, which guards our heart and mind (Philipians 4:7). It’s not something we can manufacture with relaxation exercises or positive thinking. God’s peace is by the Spirit who indwells us (Galatians 5:22 – 23). He has provided everything necessary for us to experience peace in our heart and mind. Therefore, if our spirit is still unsettled, we need to examine ourselves. Since Christ’s peace is unaffected by circumstances, the problem is not our situation but rather our response to it. We could be harboring sinful attitudes, thought patterns, or emotions that are robbing us of peace. Anger, bitterness, impatience, resentment, and worry are evidence that we are not walking in the Spirit.
Paul said, “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). Whenever our thoughts, desires, or expectations aren’t aligned with the Spirit, we’re in conflict with Him and can have no peace. “For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want” (Galatians 5:17). The Spirit’s fruit of peace comes only when our life is joined with Him in submission and obedience.
3. Peace With One Another. The final leg of the stool is peace with other people. Even though we’ve likened peace to separate legs on a stool, which are seemingly independent of one another, they’re really consecutive in nature. Unless we have peace with God, we can’t have the peace of God. And in order to live in peace with others, we must have His peace ruling within us. Many of the emotions that cause inner turmoil also keep us from having harmonious relationships. Think about it. How can we live at peace with others when we’re filled with jealousy, resentment, unforgiveness, anger, or bitterness? IT IS NOT POSSIBLE!
There will be times when people offend, mistreat, or speak about you with unkind or untrue comments. These things are unavoidable, but you don’t have to respond sinfully. When you face such an affront, ask God to give you the grace to do what He has commanded: “Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other” (Colossians 3:12 – 13).
Pastor Stanley concludes: “Genuine, stabilizing peace requires all three legs of the stool, and each one comes from a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Only then will we have peace like a river flowing through our life in every circumstance.”
My friends, are you lacking any part of God’s three-fold peace? Remember if you are a Christian, you already have peace with God, but maintaining the other two requires cooperation with the Spirit.
Next week I would like to wrap up this discussion with a simple process to access the cooperation of the Spirit.
