Peace
Fruits of the Spirit, Part 5
Read Part 1, Part 2 (Abide in the Vine), Part3 (Love), Part 4 (Joy)
War & Peace
Once again here are the fruits of the Spirit as defined in Galatians 5.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23) {emphasis mine}
When I think of the word peace, it makes me think of the stereotypical beauty pageant question and answer. “What do you most want?” “I want world peace.”
You could make an argument that peace is the absence of war.
Peace is the end of war with God
Peace is the end of war with others
Peace is the end of war with and within myself
Of course that barely touches the surface of what the fruit of the Spirit form of peace really is. The idea that peace is the end of war with God is very much true,
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1)
but the other two are only somewhat true of biblical peace. As long as there is sin in our lives and in the world, there will be a form of war with others and within ourselves because
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)
There will always be war between righteousness and evil until the return of Jesus to reign and to make all things new. This does not mean personally attacking unbelievers, but it does mean fighting for the truth and against sin in the world. There is a reason that God gives us the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6.
Peace Replaces Worry
You could also make the argument that peace is the absence of worry.
Peace I leave with you; My 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 fearful. (John 14:27)
Almost 20 years ago, I was leading a high school, girls bible study. They picked out a book that compared Mary and Martha. (I wish I could remember the name of the book so I could recommend it.) Initially, I wasn’t thrilled with their pick, but decided to go along with it. This book made a huge impact on me because my temperament definitely aligned with Martha and I needed to become more like Mary.
But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; (Luke 10:41)
If there is any fruit of the Spirit of which I have been lacking or producing in meager amounts throughout my Christian life, it would probably be peace. On one hand I have the benefit that I can see the lies around me. I can see where the bad decisions are likely to lead. This allows me to act wisely in response to what may lie ahead. On the other hand, this ability to see how things can go wrong, leads to worrying about what might go wrong (no matter how likely or unlikely) and trying to prepare for every possible eventuality myself instead of trusting that God is in control.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)
The good news is that I am learning and growing. I’ve found that by focusing on Jesus and His work, instead of focusing on what bad things are happening or may happen, the worry fades away. I like the example of Peter:
And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!” (Matthew 14:25-34)
Notice that they were all afraid of what they saw and what they thought might happen, but Peter looked at Jesus and said, “ “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” While looking at Jesus and listening to Jesus, he had faith and peace, even in the storm and he got out of the boat and walked on water, but see what happened when he took his eyes off Jesus. “But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”” He immediately became frightened. He lost his peace. Jesus promises peace to all those who trust in Him. It truly is a peace that “surpasses all understanding.”
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phillipians 4:6-7) {emphasis mine}
There are many examples of those who have faith in God having an incomprehensible peace in difficult circumstances. I’ll now give an example from the Old Testament.
Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:14-18) {emphasis mine}
Faith and peace are so closely linked that they cannot be separated. Without faith, we can NOT have peace. Notice in this passage that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego had faith that “our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire,” but they had peace that “even if He does not, … we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Faith in God’s power and faithfulness enables us to have peace in every situation, even in the most horrific, painful, scary situations. If we know who God is, His power and His faithfulness, then we don’t need to worry about anything. We can have peace, knowing that “… God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Serenity Prayer
When I think of peace, I also think of the Serenity Prayer. Most people are familiar with the first 4 lines, but not necessarily the rest of the prayer. It doesn’t have the authority of scripture on the subject of peace or its close cousin serenity, but it does have some truth that can help us have a right view on the world and to embrace peace in the Spirit. Read it slowly concentrating on each line and I think you will be inspired.
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;
taking, as Jesus did,
this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that You will make all things right
if I surrender to Your will;
so that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with You forever in the next.Amen.
Reinhold Niebuhr
The first 4 lines are very succinct and easy to remember, making them good for helping us get our minds right, but the lines that follow are even more biblically true.
There are numerous verses about taking one day at a time and not wasting time on worrying about the future.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
There are numerous verses about being strengthened by hardship.
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14)
There are numerous verses about trusting God.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
There are numerous verses about surrendering your will.
For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. (1 Peter 2:15)
There are numerous verses about happiness (or more correctly, joy).
These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. (1 John 1:4)
There are numerous verses about God making all things right.
And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” (Revelation 21:5)
Action Plan
Reread the Serenity Prayer and the examples of Peter, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abed-nego and look at your life to see what thoughts and actions might be stealing your peace.
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. (John 14:1)
Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11)
May God give you peace in good times and in bad.
Trust Jesus.
your sister in Christ,
Christy
FYI, my following posts will continue going through each of the individual fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5
Bible verses are NASB (New American Standard Bible) 1995 edition unless otherwise stated
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