Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The God of Peace

The God of Peace
June 10, 2008

Romans 15:33 "The God of peace be with you all. Amen"

Many Americans, including Christians, seem to lack peace in their lives. This peace is not the opposite of being at war with someone, but rather an inner turmoil of stress or uneasiness. There is an inside battle that keeps us from having a restful heart, evidenced by the number of people with anxiety disorders, high blood pressure, or simply high levels of stress in their lives. For one reason or another, they are not able to come down from that stress and are always at odds with themselves. If you have no worries in your life then you are one of a select few, but if you are like most of us, you could use a larger degree of peace in your life.

There is good news. Our God is the God of Peace. Good for Him, but what does that mean for us? What is that peace and where does it come from? Instead of saying He is the God of peace we can say He is not the God of anxiety. That means His character, His inmost being, is at peace and rest. There is no worry or restlessness in Him. He does not wish to attack or kill and has no aggression in His presence. Again, this is great for Him but how do we get some of that in our lives? The answer is more simple than you think.

You cannot pray for more peace in your life and you cannot work at it. You cannot earn it and you cannot buy it. It is not even a gift. Peace is only found if we are in God's presence. You see, since God is the God of peace, that means He carries peace with Him everywhere He goes. It is part of His character and it cannot be removed. If He goes over "here" then that is where His peace may be found; it is with Him. What this means to you is simple. Spend more time with God, in His presence, and you'll naturally have His peace. But in order to spend time with Him you must get rid of your own thoughts and agendas, as there can be nothing between you and God. If you are truly spending time with Him in His presence, then you have cast all of your life aside and everything in it. You cannot take those things with you into a personal meeting with God.

If you have shed off that extra luggage to be in His presence, then you will be able to experience peace, amazing peace. And it is not simply the avoidance of those stressors in your life, but truly experiencing God's peace, that part of His character that is always there. It is like walking outside after being locked up all winter, letting the sunshine hit your face. The warmth simply casts itself onto your face and permeates every part of your being. When you are in His presence, you are experiencing His peace, the warmth of His presence. The trick is to be in His presence at all times in order to experience peace at all times.

Notice the text in the specific scripture, "The God of peace be with you..." Want to take peace with you everywhere you go? Just take God and His presence with you, the peace with follow.

1. Haven't had any peace in your life lately?
2. Isn't it time you spent some time in His presence in order to have that peace?

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