CATCHING THE SPIRIT OF PEACE

Galatians 5:22-23; Isaiah 26:3

Troubles in life are inevitable. Whether you like them or not, you will surely experience them. The Bible openly teaches:

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2)

So, the question is not if you will have difficult times, just when will you have them.

One of the most precious blessings God wants us to have is His peace – His “perfect peace” in times of our troubles. This is the kind of peace that Jesus was able to demonstrate in Luke 8: 22-25, while He was with His disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee. A big storm came and all the disciples, despite of the fact that some of them were professional fishermen, became really anxious and afraid. And Jesus was sleeping in the midst of the raging storm. How can he sleep? How can He have so much peace?

Another story was Peter, recorded in Acts 12. Peter was arrested by king Herod and put him in prison to be executed. Notice what he was doing the night he was to be executed:

Surprisingly, Peter was sleeping like a baby that when the angel came to rescue him. He needed to strike him on the side to wake him up. How can both Jesus Christ and Peter sleep in these trying times? Obviously, they both understood that God was in perfect control.

Do we know this kind of peace today? Do we know what it means to really have a good night’s sleep? There’s no way, we can feel like winners in this life without God’s peace in us. So, as we continue our study on the fruit of the Spirit, let’s learn together how we can receive the peace that God wants to give all of us.

I    THE “PERFECT PEACE”:

Peace is a major theme in the Bible. And there are three kinds of peace that the Bible teaches:

A. “Peace with God”

This is the kind of peace that you received when you have recognized Jesus as your savior. This is foundational, the peace in your soul. There is a restlessness within every person. We search for what will calm this restlessness. Sometimes, we think that this restlessness can be satisfied by pleasures, material stuff, or even relationships – finding the right friend or spouse. Our souls will not find rest, peace, until we are reconciled to God, and have been forgiven of our sins.

B. “Peace with everyone”

The peace with God is the spiritual peace, while the peace with everyone is the relational peace. This is when you maintain a peaceful relationships with others, wherein you don’t worry about conflicts.

C. “Peace of God”

This is the emotional peace. The peace that allows us to sleep in the midst of our storms. Often, this is regarded as inner tranquility.

When we think of God’s perfect peace, we need to be convinced that it is a process. It begins with having the peace with God, then you will experience God help in bringing peace in your relationships and in your heart. Remember, peace does not have to be elusive, God wants you to experience it.

II   THE PRODUCTION OF IT:

How can we experience this perfect peace? Many times, even the best of us, who already know Jesus as our savior are struggling to have the tranquility we need.

When God spoke through the prophet Isaiah about this subject, God specifically said, ‘whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.’

The key factor is trust in God that allows us to focus our mind on the fact that He is bigger than our troubles, and He is always in perfect control.

According to some studies, we go through various stages and reactions in the way we handle troubles:
- Denial = “This can’t be right, get me a second opinion”
- Bargaining = “God get me out of this, and I’ll be a missionary.”
- Anger = “Why me, when I’ve lived such a good life? It’s not fair.”
- Acceptance = “God, I will trust in you.

For those who truly trust in the Lord, the acceptance often comes more quickly more than others. It comes because of our sense of security that God not only knows what’s best for us, but that he wants what’s best for us.

Speaking of trusting God, this proverbs encourages us to trust in the Lord and not depend on our understanding. Often, we want to always understand why God is doing what He is doing. We all have to trust and He promises to make our paths straight..

If you are going to fly to California? Would you rather have a straight flight, or a flight with a lot of stopovers? God doesn’t want us to go through a lot of stress, but He wants us to trust Him.

Here’s one of the best verses in Psalms that we should never forget when we are going through difficult times:

Remember, He is always with you ready to help you in all your troubles.

III  THE PRAYERS IN IT:

We, as God’s people often undermine the importance for prayers in our lives. Yet, we need to understand that this is what God has provided for us in order to experience inner tranquility. Let’s go back to Philippians 4: 6-7:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

It is not possible to say that you trust in Him, and not pray to Him. Remember, there is someone to whom you can give all of your problems so that you can enjoy peace even in the most difficult times. Peter reminds us that He is a God who cares about us.

There was a story of man who was a tremendous worrier. He couldn’t sleep because he worried so much. One day he came out of his house a totally different person. He was whistling, happy and singing at the top of his lungs. His next-door neighbor saw him and asked, “What in the world has happened to you?” “Oh,” he replied, I don’t have a worry in this world, and I am so happy.” “And how did you get rid of your worries?” the neighbor wondered. “Well, I have hired a professional worrier,” he answered. “He does all my worrying for me.” “That’s wonderful. How mush does this professional worrier cost?” “He costs a thousand dollars a day,” “A thousand dollars a day? You don’t have that kind of money. How are you going to pay him?” “Oh, that his worry,” answered the man.

God is always ready to take our burdens. He delights in our prayers. He is not just able to help, he is very much willing to help. Let’s not miss the privilege of experiencing God’s inner peace. He wants us to have it.