By Alisha Reginal
Peace: What is it, and how do I get it?
There is peace that God alone provides.
Peace within, silencing our deepest worries and fears. (See Psalm 23, Philippians 4:6-7, Judges 6:23-24.)
Peace with others, enabling us to love those labeled “unlovable.” (See Romans 12:9-21, Matthew 5:9, 43-44.)
Peace with God, allowing us to connect with the One who loves us more than we can comprehend. (See Isaiah 53:5, Romans 5:1.)
Have you ever experienced peace?
What exactly does it mean to feel peace?
Peace isn’t just the absence of distress or turbulence or conflict. If that were the only definition of peace, we’d never experience peace on this earth.
Instead, we can think about peace as follows:
- Peace is a feeling of trust that God is working everything out. Peace trusts that God has a good plan and purpose for all the challenging situations we face. (See Romans 8:28, Proverbs 3:5-6.)
- Said another way, peace is assurance. When we’re tempted to feel defeated and hopeless due to personal trials and calamities in the world around us, God’s peace gives assurance that the storm will end and/or that we will pass through it safely.
In fact, peace looks a lot like faith – believing in something we can’t see. (See Hebrews 11:1.)
Faith-filled peace allows us to rest in the middle of a storm, like Jesus did in Matthew 8:23-27. Peace results from faith that God is bigger than the storm and can put the storm to an end.
But not every storm calls for passive rest; other storms require action. Faith-filled peace also allows us to speak and act wisely, directed by God, in the middle of a storm, like Paul did in Acts 27. Peace results from faith that God is bigger than the storm and can carry us safely through.
How do we experience faith-filled peace?
Through faith in God, we experience peace.
Sometimes we miss peace because we look for it in the wrong places.
Other times we lack peace because the struggles we see and experience are more tangible than choosing to believe that God will take care of us.
In many ways, peace is a choice. Experiencing peace involves:
- Choosing to believe that God is in control, and we are not.
- Choosing to believe that God is good.
- Choosing to believe that God loves us – you included.
God loves us so much that He did the unthinkable for us. While we were stuck in a state of eternal despair and peacelessness, separated from God, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, as the mechanism to connect us with God – both while we’re here on earth and in the life after we die: “…God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:8, 10).
By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus triumphed over the things that make us feel defeated and gave us access to peace. Peace with God. And the peace of God.
- Peace with God: Faith in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world gives us peace with God: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
- Peace of God: Believing in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world enables us to be filled with God’s peace, joy, and hope: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).
Peace does not eliminate pain. Peace allows us to remain hopeful amidst pain.
When life’s mountains threaten to crush us, peace gives us hope that we can climb. Peace is a choice to put one foot in front of the other and trust God with every step. We may feel out of breath at times, but peace tells us we’ll make it to the top.
Regardless how chaotic, empty, or painful life might feel, peace is available to you today.
Ask God for peace.
I pray the following for each person who reads this post: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
To connect with the author visit: https://about.me/alishareginal
