Many people are fearful of what lies ahead; fearful for our future, for our family or for our job. In fact, the most read topic here at GodisMySource.org is Confessions of Overcoming Fear and Worry. Yes, we are living in troubled times where people have lost confidence in the economy, in political leaders and the institutions that have shaped our world. Yet, it is possible to have peace and to thrive in such times. What is peace anyway? Having peace is not the absence of trying circumstances or challenges. Rather it is having a calm assurance that our needs are taking care of. It is a perception of possessing wholeness: nothing missing and nothing broken; that we have access to adequate resources. Such a peace is supernatural. It not dependent on the things we can see. But how do we receive it?
Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.” He has already given us his peace, his calmness, his wholeness, his adequate resources. And he added in John 16, “I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world,” John 16:33. Jesus is stronger than the world and he has no worries about what may happen tomorrow. But if we are still lacking inner calmness and wholeness it is because we have not developed what Christ has already given us. It is this peace that the Apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:15 should rule in your hearts.
How do we develop this peace? By meditating on the love God has for us. God loves us so much that he sent his best to redeem us, His Son. God is not cheap; he is not holding back on his love for us. Paul tells us in Romans 8 that nothing can separate us from God’s love. It is this revelation of God’s love for us must grow strong within us. Thus, we need to begin to recognize and acknowledge his love in our lives. We need to stop doubting his love and start confessing each day: “God loves me!”
Also, we must meditate on God’s word, his revelation of his love to us so that we can increase our confidence and faith in his willingness and ability to bring about victories in our lives. It is not by bread alone that we will live, but by every word from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). And the writer of Psalm 119 confirms this where he says in verse 165, “Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.”
Since Jesus has already given us his peace and we can develop this peace by meditating on God’s word and God’s love for us, let us then make a habit each day to receive and thank the Lord for his peace. Let us practice rolling our cares and worries on to the Lord Jesus (1 Peter 5:6) and not take them up again on ourselves. Learn to listen to the voice of the Lord by spending time in his presence. He will speak to us through the scripture that we have been meditating on; he has ideas and instructions that the world has never considered. And then we need do what we tells us. By following these steps we can experience God’s peace in our lives.