Peace is a noble goal in a world so besotted with strife, as war rages in seemingly every corner of our celestial ball. Sometimes you might feel trapped in the old song by Stealer’s Wheel; “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you.” (Gerald Rafferty, 1972). Peace, as the world sees it, is nothing more than the “quiet space between two wars.”
World War I was proclaimed the “War to end all wars” but proved to be more of a foundation upon which the cataclysms of the twentieth century were built. Since the 1920’s we have seen WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War and our current war that is called “The War on Terror.” These are only wars in which the U. S. has been fully involved; there have been literally hundreds of others – large and small – all over the globe.
Real and lasting peace begins with the individual, and that peace begins by making peace with God. According to the inerrant Bible, Paul the apostle wrote in Ephesians 2:3 that men are “by nature children of wrath” who live “in the passions of their flesh.”
In another of his letters to the church at Rome Paul wrote that’ “None are righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18, ESV).
This doesn’t sound like very good news for man! However, in that same chapter we read two words that set the world on its head; “But now.” Though all have sinned, God provided grace (undeserved favor) toward mankind by sending His Son Jesus “as a propitiation by His blood” to forgive our sins, make us right with God and to show God’s righteousness.
Man broke God’s covenant many years ago and God made it right through Jesus. By receiving this truth of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead each person can have his or her own “peace with God.” Even though the world seems to be coming apart at the seams, through peace with God and faith in Christ you can have perfect peace in the midst of this chaotic world.
If you are a Christian, but feel as if you have lost your peace, you don’t have to suffer from the circumstances that swirl around you. There is a place for you; something you can do to regain God’s peace.
Isaiah the prophet, in the eighth century before Christ told the land of Judah; “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3-4, ESV).
We are told in the New Testament book of Hebrews that we are to “keep our eyes on Jesus who is the Originator and Finisher of our faith.” Why?
In Hebrews 13:5 Jesus promises that “I will never leave nor forsake you.” Knowing these truths first brings calm; a calm that grows into peace, sown and nurtured to harvest by God Himself. He oversees all of your needs and troubles. He knows you, and cares for you beyond your ability to conceive.
Are you tired? Have all your efforts to achieve personal peace failed, or worse, led you to even greater anxiety and remorse? When Christ becomes your life, through faith in what He did on the cross, you can have perfect peace with God; even in a world spinning out of control. Jesus has paid for your peace…it is right there, waiting for you to accept it as the gift of God, for you, His most precious child.