Yup, like love and joy, peace is another Fruit of the Spirit that is in short supply. Global. Societal. Relational. Personal.
Can we truly have peace in the midst of all the outer turmoil?
The Peace of Faith
Peace begins with understanding and trusting God’s character. The more we understand and accept reality and the order of the universe as God created it, the deeper our peace can grow. It becomes unshakable.
I’m not there yet. In fact, I have quite a way to go. How about you?
We’re not powerless.
We’re responsible for the knowledge we attain, and the truth God reveals. If I want true peace and joy, and whole-hearted love for God and others, I must accept what I know is true, and yield to it. Regardless of how it feels in the bending.
How can we have joy and peace if we’re realistic about the ugliness in the world? Read Joy, Reality, and Living a Lie.
The Peace of Obedience
The strongest thread that runs through our Listen When He Speaks theme of Peace, is the importance of obedience. God’s people were blessed with peace and prosperity as they chose to obey God’s commandments as they promised in their covenant with Him. When they didn’t, sooner or later, God would send His promised consequences. When they turned their hearts back to Him, He blessed them with restoration.
We’ll visit the Gospel, Epistles, and Proverbs this month, with stops in the Psalms. Our time in the Old Testament includes a week with Zechariah. As we learned from David in March, the heart of the people was important, and the kings set the tone.
What happens when the people and the king use their own ideas about how to honor God instead of following instructions He gives? Read about it in The Joy of Getting it Right.
The Peace that Passes Understanding
Obeying God doesn’t guarantee physical peace or safety. In fact, we’re guaranteed trials and suffering as we follow Christ. But He has promised to be with us through it all, and we can have peace in Him. Even in the midst of the storm.
Hard times, whether sent by God or allowed by Him, are opportunities to draw closer to Him. Intimacy with God can deepen in our suffering. It’s up to us to trust Him, and seek Him there. It sounds hard, maybe even harsh, to be expected to choose gratitude in all things, but it allows us to find peace beyond anything pleasant the world has to offer. God’s peace in our lives, as joy in Him, doesn’t always make sense. It seems impossible to have joy and peace in the midst of many of the hard things in life, but we can. It’s more than possible. Will we trust and find it?
Listen When He Speaks
Peace is our April theme for Listen When He Speaks, a different type of devotional Scripture reading and writing plan. Learn more here! Or sign up for monthly reading plans here!
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Our suggested memory passage for April Peace is Romans 8:37-39. Memorize in the translation of your choice.