No God, No Peace. Know God, Know Peace.
by Ptr. Joby Soriano
The story of beauty queen Tracy Lippard is truly a story of good girl gone bad. What motivated the pretty face to carry a gun, arm herself with a hammer and a bottle of lighter fluid set to burn?
REVENGE.
Apparently, Ms. Lippard's ex-boyfriend jilted her at their own wedding and then she found out that he was about to get married to another woman. Consumed with rage, she wanted to kill the man she once loved. She drove to his home and pretended to be caught in a car trouble. She was allowed inside the man's kitchen by the his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Ms. Lippard attempted to attack the couple but unfortunately for her, the father-in-law worked for a government secret service so he was able to tackle her. With the help of his wife, they were able to take her down. Eventually, the police arrived and Ms. Lippard was arrested.
When asked why she did it, she said:
"I need inner peace."
PEACE.
What is peace to you?
Getting rich with money?
Having lots of vacations?
No trials?
What is PEACE?
Peace in Greek is eiréné, which means to bind together or weave together, just like the strands of a rope. In Hebrew, it is shalom- freedom from trouble.
Life poses several challenges that prove how peace is very difficult to achieve. Trials such as overload of school works, tensions in the family and others weigh heavily on our hearts, making it hard for us to experience quietness.
Where can we find peace in a world that's just filled with too much shenanigans?
Jesus answers:
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27
Real peace is not found in the glimmer of money or the glamour of material things, it's with God.
Just like the strands of the rope, we have to be woven together with Him if we desire to find peace. If we want to experience assurance and certainty, we should dig deeper in His Word.
When life challenges us with trials, do we give up easily? Once we're faced with that trial, are we the first to run away from it or are we the last to withstand and eventually pass through?
Find your inner peace with God to make it through.
We should follow the steps of Jesus.
Jesus was the Son of God. He was God in the flesh, therefore He knew what it was like to be human and he too searched for peace.
Amazingly, He had peace wherever He went.
Jesus had peace during Satan's tempting (Matthew 4:1-11)
He had peace during a storm (Luke 8:22-25)
He had peace when he was being interrogated by Pilate (John 18:33-38)
He had peace when he was nailed on the cross (Luke 23:34)
And as He said in John 14:27, Jesus offers His peace to us. In fact, PEACE is a fruit of the Holy Spirit as said in Galatians 5:22-23. But keep in mind that the peace Jesus has for us is unlike any other.
In verse 27, Jesus describes His version of peace as the type that wasn't similar to what the world offers to us. Today, there are various organizations rallying for peace. Peace treaties, peace cors, peace talks, all types of peace.
The world's peace is not genuine and it will never be. When we say cease fire, it doesn't mean the war has stopped. It's still there, only hidden under a rug until it can resume. Someday, another conflict will rise and the exchange of fire will resume.
On the other side, God's peace is true forgiveness. The fire will not only cease momentarily, it will cease forever.
The world's peace is temporal and artificial. It tells us that in order to find peace after every failed relationship, we should get drunk and party harder than we have in our lives. Drugs is the answer should we ask for a calming effect.
But God's peace is much more than that. His peace is not over once we wake up and suffer from a serious hang over. It reaches deep down in the dark pit where we find ourselves in. Unlike booze and drugs that just worsen our condition, God's peace helps us genuinely move on step by step.
How can we receive this peace from the Lord?
Simple.
All it takes is the 3 R's.
RECEIVE. RELEASE. RELY.
1. Receive
5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Romans 5:1
It always comes to a choice. We have the option to reject or to receive the peace Christ offers to us. If we have been searching forever for the peace that we need, we can always run to Jesus because He offers it to us so wholeheartedly as He says so in John 16:33:
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
In this world, there is nothing but trouble. We think we're satisfied with the things offered by this world but in reality, we remain unstable. If we want genuine peace in our hearts, we have to let go and to receive the peace Jesus offers us.
2. Release
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you
1 Peter 5:7
When we receive the peace of Jesus, we shouldn't be super stressed out with all the worries our trials bring us. Normally, when we're faced with situations that test our faith (e.g. school works that just make your head ache, unreasonable people, etc.), we become so clouded with worry and our fears that our mind can't come up with the proper response.
But if you have God's peace, don't fret!
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Sometimes, you just have to pause and take a deep breath. Worrying won't help us resolve our problems. Rather than be stressed out and kill ourselves and go overboard, we should just bow your head and say a prayer. Be still and know that He is God. He will carry us through our trials, that we can be assured of.
Call out to Him because He hears you.
3. Rely
After we release our prayers to God, we wait. We don't turn around or and squiggle. We await His answer. We need to rest and fall back into the arms of God.
There was a man who was driving his truck by the road when he spotted an old man who was walking down the road carrying a sack of potatoes. As a sign of goodwill, he stopped his truck and went down to offer the old man a ride. The old man agreed and he rode at the back of the truck. The man continued to drive and he took a look at the old man.
He was surprised to see that the old man was still carrying the sack of potatoes, despite the fact that he could've set it down the moment he got on the truck.
Sometimes, we could be just like that old man. God offers to carry our burdens but we still cling unto them. We refuse to allow God to take over. We still want to hold unto our sack of potatoes.
Know that God is always in control.
You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust you.
Isaiah 26:3
Think about God. Faced with the impossible? You have only two choices: to have fear or to have faith. According to Martin Luther, faith sees the invisible, believes in the incredible, and receives the impossible. Rely on His promises and don't be swayed by fear. Fear paralyzes peace. Read Isaiah 43:2 and be comforted.
God didn't promise that He keep us away from life's problems but He does promise that He will see us through it and that He will be with us.
Know God more and you will know what genuine peace is about :)
No God, No peace.
But know God, you will know PEACE! :>
Written by: Ashley Bernadette Petallano (c) 2013
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