“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
Webster dictionary defines “peace” as “a state in which there is no war or fighting…an agreement to end a war…a period of time when there is no war or fighting…a state of tranquility or quiet”. Wow, just think no more war or fighting. Don’t think of peace as in our culture, think of peace within yourself. We all have wars we are fighting within ourselves. Demons that have controlled our way of thinking with false information about ourselves and others. Without the peace that God can show us we yield to every kind of fleshly impulse there is. When we experience the peace that God wants us to experience we clearly hear from God our Father.
The Bible teaches us there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of darkness (Satan) and the kingdom of God. We all experience a warfare within ourselves between our sinful flesh (Satan) and the Holy Spirit (God). To find true inner peace we need to allow the Holy Spirit to take control over our spirit, soul, mind, and body. Isaiah 26:3 ESV tells us if we keep our mind and our eyes on God and trust in Him, God will keep us in perfect peace, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
In this fast paced world we all experience anxiety to some extent. If I allow it, just the drive to work each day can make me anxious dealing with all the traffic on all the dangerous roads I travel each day. Thank God He teaches in Colossians 3:1-2 to set my mind on Him and not on worldly things, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” God is saying, don’t worry about the traffic, don’t worry about what I’m going to eat, don’t worry about how the bills will get paid, don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry! He is saying “give it to me, I will take care of it”. Seek God first in everything and He will give you peace.
“casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 ESV
“4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:4-7 tell us to cast our worries upon God and not be anxious about anything, pray without ceasing and be thankful about everything. This will bring true peace into our lives.
”God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
In April of 2013 I stood at the side of my baby girl’s hospital bed watching the life slowly drain from her body. She had only turned 35 a few weeks prior. Other than the lady that was in the hospital room who was assigned to “watch over her” it was just me, my baby and God. I cried out to God to spare her life and bring her back to me, but only if it was His will. Only if His plan would be fulfilled. I knew that sometimes only through death could life continue. Let me explain. Sometimes God has to do something in our lives to “wake us up” so that we will turn to Him and allow Him to work in our lives. I knew that through her death it could mean that those she knew might be “woke up” and find they needed God in their lives and come to know Him and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. I prayed for Him to give me peace with His decision. Through Psalm 46:1 He reminded me that He was my strength in this storm and I could rely on Him for my refuge and draw my strength from Him. A great sense of “peace” fell on me and even though I didn’t like it, I could accept that my baby girl was going to be spending life in heaven and not here on earth. She would be spending eternity with Her Heavenly Father and not her earthly mother. I was at peace knowing she would suffer no more pain, no more sickness, no more suffering. She would experience a “new body” in a heavenly place where there was “no more pain”. She would spend eternity with God our Father.
In Isaiah 9:6 ESV, we find that Jesus Christ is called the “Price of Peace”, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isn’t it exciting to know that Jesus is our Price of Peace?
In John 14:27 ESV, God tells us about the kind of peace He wants to give us, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
When we find true peace we also experience patience and 2 of the other 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Joy and Self-Control.
