God's Continual Peace, Pt. 4

Peace is not the absence of trouble. However, for the child of God, there will be peace, a calmness that anchors the soul!

God's Continual Peace, Pt. 4

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law."

(Galatians 5:22-23)

I have been blessed and encouraged by Dr. Charles Stanley's teachings on this wonderful subject of peace. I hope you are blessed as we continue to discuss what he taught about the peace of God. In Galatians 5, we read of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and listed third is our topic of discussion in our devotions this week: peace. When the Spirit comes into your life, He will produce this fruit, enabling you to have all the other fruits! He does it; circumstances are not the issue. Our responsibility is to be in alignment with Him. It is a waste of time to live without God's peace. Peace with God is when you accept Him and know Him, and the peace of God is when you live surrendered to Him, walking in agreement with Him.

As I was going through my notes of Stanley's message on God's continual peace, I thought of the testimony of Phil Robertson. My wife Ashley and I went to see The Blind, an excellent movie that details Robertson's life story. He was a man with many natural gifts and abilities, but when he began to drink, his life spiraled out of control. He almost lost everything, but he gave his life to Jesus, and his entire world changed! God has truly blessed him, and nowadays, many have heard of the Robertson Family and seen their show, Duck Dynasty. At the end of the movie, he speaks to the audience and mentions all the fruit of the Spirit, and then he says, if you have found another way to have this fruit, then let me know, but I doubt you will!

Stanley shared some very powerful, applicable truths that I will capture in this paragraph. I hope this encourages you as it did me. Peace is not the absence of trouble. However, for the child of God, there will be peace, a calmness that anchors the soul! Jesus is our peace. When trials come, focus on Jesus, because He is our peace. When we go through pain, focus on Him; if we focus on the pain, it makes things worse. Trust Him to be who He said He would be. You do not have to be thrown off course or throw up your hands in despair! It is Christ Jesus in you Who will keep you anchored and at peace. We make a choice: we can fuss, argue with God, or say, "I claim the peace of God." His peace overrides everything the devil throws at you, and it is yours for the asking. Claim it, trust Him, focus on Him; He is the Source. Think about how you got saved: you only did one thing: you trusted Him to do what He said He would do. If He can do that in a one-time event, can He give peace every day? Yes! Focus on the source of peace, not the source of frustration.

I encourage you to lean into Jesus and allow Him to do what only He can do. He alone saves your soul and imparts to you everlasting peace. Ask Him to help you, to save you, to give you peace. He will not disappoint. Jesus is amazing!