How do we keep God’s Peace?

This seems to be the question of the year. I have been told many different answers to this question — none of which seem to do the trick. I think part of the problem is that we want the “trick” to get peace easily and conveniently, no matter what season of life we are in. Everyone that has tried to give me advice on peace has had great intentions. However, after about 14 months of struggling with anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear, I finally found what His Word says about peace. That’s where it all actually made sense.

When we seek advice and counsel from others on certain topics, they mostly speak from their experience. This is great, and God definitely gives us the ability to minister to others through our experiences. However, it often leaves us wondering, “If it works for them, why isn’t it working for me?” “Am I doing something wrong?” “Does God love them or care about them more than me?” “Why isn’t God listening to me?”

When we seek advice and counsel from His Word, that is where the power of the living truth shines through. His Word is the ultimate and only real truth (like, capital T truth). There is nothing that we can do or say that will change the power and truth of His Word. There is nothing we can do or say to make His promises void or invalid. Reading His Word often makes me think, “Why didn’t I read this sooner?” “Why do I always forget to seek His Word before anyone else’s?”

Here are some ways I have been told by others that I can receive and keep His peace:

· Just pray about it.

· Surrender it all to Him.

· Just ask for His peace; it is a free gift that He gives to you.

· Put your trust completely in God and He will give you peace.

None of these are false or unhelpful, but there are only so many times we can do these things without eventually wondering why it’s not sticking. I know for a fact that I have told other people these exact expressions to try to help them find His peace. These are all derived from scripture and can be very helpful. However, God has been teaching me a better way that He designed to help us find peace and to be better people as a whole, rather than seeking out just enough peace to get us through the day. It’s going to be a process making this a habit, but it will totally be worth it.

Here are some new phrases I am learning from God’s Word:

· Justification by faith (I will explain.)

· Righteousness and peace go together (like peanut butter and jelly).

· Heart check (Let’s get right with God.)

Romans 5:1–2 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

Psalms 85:10 says, “Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.”

Justification by faith is a wonderful thing. It’s the point of the Gospel, really. No one on earth, except for Jesus, has ever been able to maintain the law and obey all of God’s commands perfectly. That’s why God sent His son, Jesus, to “pay the bill” of our sins (past, present, and future). Righteousness means being right before God. We cannot do that without Jesus and without God’s forgiveness. That’s where our faith comes in. Our faith (or belief) that Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross to pay for our sins and heal our diseases, and rose again so that we may have eternal life is what justifies us. Our faith is what God uses to gift us with His righteousness. Yes, it’s a gift, but it’s only free when you have faith! If you struggle with doubt and lacking faith, that is something God wants to help you with if you are willing to ask.

When we are right with God, we are able to receive and keep His peace. This does not mean our lives are smooth sailing or that we don’t have chaos happening around us. We will still face trials and have the pressures of everyday life. This does mean that because we have faith, we are gifted with the righteousness of God, and therefore we can have internal peace. We don’t have to strive to do everything perfectly because we have been justified by God through our faith.

Alright, here’s the heart check part:

A lack of peace comes when our heart and our spirit are not aligned. In other words, our peace gets away from us when we step outside of God’s will for our lives. His will is ­for us to be justified by our faith and to share His love and Jesus with others. When our thoughts and actions aren’t lining up with the way He designed us, we can’t expect to keep His peace. We must see the love He showed us through the cross and know that it’s worth giving our lives and worldly desires up for. Trust me, I am much better off with my life in His hands. I can show my faith by doing my best to obey His commands. The good news is that the stress of perfection isn’t there because I have been justified by my faith in Jesus and God. When I feel my peace slipping away, I ask myself, “What in my life isn’t lining up with God’s way?”

Then, it’s time to repent. Repent means to “turn away from”. It simply means you are choosing God’s way over the world’s way.

This is usually what my repentant moments sound like:

“God, I am sorry for getting stressed over that thing. I trust your ways and your timing. I repent of listening to the wrong voices and I turn back to you and your voice.”

“God, I am so sorry for saying that to or about that person. I don’t want to be so quick to speak and slow to listen. I need your help responding with love and kindness.”

I am learning about humility and letting go of the control that I am so used to holding onto. It is freeing to live His way because I know it’s the best way. It takes the pressure off to try to find peace in worldly things. If you’re searching for peace any place other than God, you aren’t going to find it. The world offers temporary peace that works like duct tape on the bottom of a cruise ship. It won’t be able to sustain you through all the tossing and turning of the waves.

If we can show God our faith, He justifies us and allows us to put on His righteousness. Then, we are right with God and receive His peace. Even when we mess up and we feel our peace slipping away, we can repent and get it back again because of Jesus.

As we continually turn back to God, He will give us the peace He promises.