I need this time together, Father. Speak to my weary soul. Use this brain of mine to communicate Your word to a world in search of it, whether they realize it or not. Amen.
1 Corinthians 1:3 (<<click here to read the passage)
Peace. We are all in search of it. But on many fronts, it is elusive. We think we find it, and “poof” it vanishes before our very eyes. World peace? Many pursue it with a vengeance but, I for one, don’t think we, in and of ourselves, will ever accomplish it. When we get right down to brass tacks, we cannot ever truly find (or at least hang on to) peace because humanity is incapable of achieving it.
I think when we really get down to it, sin is a peace breaker. As long as sin is influencing our lives, peace cannot last. Outside forces, as well as, inside struggles make it impossible to maintain it. My Life Application Bible states, “In a world of noise, confusion, and relentless pressures, people long for peace.” We have an insatiable hunger for it, but unfortunately many give up the search, thinking it impossible to find…
But there is hope. It is not impossible to find. We just must be willing to see beyond ourselves. In today’s verse, the Apostle Paul says,
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. NLT
Grace is God’s free gift of salvation given to us in Christ.
Paul proclaimed in Romans 5:1,
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. NLT
Once that connection is made – renouncing our sin and entering into that relationship with Christ – and note I said nothing about joining a church or some “religious” organization – once we have wholeheartedly entered into that relationship with Christ, then He graciously gives to us what He has…peace.
Jesus said in John 14:27,
Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.] AMP
There is our answer as plain as day! So, why do we hesitate? Personally, I’ve experienced that peace in the past and still somehow end up outside the peace Christ extended to me. The problem again is sin… Letting down our guard, instead of diligently clinging to our Savior, allows sin to breach our defenses, and “poof”, peace vanishes before our eyes.
Christ has done everything possible to bring us His peace. We cannot earn that salvation that brings peace, but may we follow the words of Paul as found in Philippians 2:12b-13,
…continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure. AMP
Amen.
Sept 18th, 2023, Mon, 7:42 pm
