Saturday, December 07, 2013

In this segment, we will look at the virtue of “peace” which is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. What we will examine is godly peace not a mental and emotional denial of one’s circumstances.

Galatians 5:22–23 (NKJV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness [KJV – gentleness], goodness, faithfulness [KJV – faith], ²³ gentleness [KJV – Meekness], self-control [KJV – temperance].

Godly peace has nothing at all to do with one circumstances. When an individual is, exhibiting peace born out of the fruit of the Spirit that peace will reside with the individual during all circumstances – joy, sorrow, trials, success, failure, victory, defeat, distress, persecution, etc. This form of peace comes from a deep trust in God.

Scripture tells us to remain in peace through praying to and trusting in our Lord Jesus the Christ. Once we turn our circumstances over to Him, truly turn them over, peace enters our hearts and spirits replacing anxiety, fear, and distress.

Philippians 4:6, 7 NKJV

"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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

This in no way means we run around with some goofy grin of denial on our faces during difficult or trying times, it instead means we behave as through we trust our God even in the mist of circumstances we do not like or desire; for you see, when you trust, you act as though you trust. You might ask, ‘Trust in what exactly?’ We trust that God has not lost control of any and all of our circumstances and that if He is allowing this “thing” to touch our lives there is a reason He has allowed such.

The definition in the Greek Language for the word “peace” used in Galatians 5:22 is as follows.

1515. εἰρήνη ĕirēnē, i-ray´-nay; prob. from a primary verb εἴρω ĕirō (to join); peace (lit. or fig.); by impl. prosperity:— one, peace, quietness, rest, + set at one again.

Peace comes when we are willing “to join” our wills with God’s Will and thus we will enter an arena of “prosperity” knowing that prosperity is not simply tangible but also intangible, since prosperity means “the condition of being successful or thriving” according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary. We can successfully navigate a defeat and we can thrive despite a trial. When we become “one” with Christ in trust of Him we can enter that arena of mental, emotional, and spiritual “quietness” which enables us to come to a place of “rest” and being “set at one again” with life and all it embodies, we enter peace.

Here are some examples of how we might express godly peace toward God, self, and others as well as through service? By not railing against God in difficult circumstances, we are exhibiting trust and walking in peace with God. When we accept who God created us to be specifically and stop desiring to be someone or something we are not, we come to a place of peace with ourselves. Taking every effort to correct our wrongs toward others and to reach out to others for reconciliation when they have wronged us, aids in our ability to be at peace with others as much as is possible on our end. When we learn to serve God in the area of service He has designed for us, and allow others to do likewise, without comparison, envy, competition, etc., we will walk and serve in peace.

A lack of peace in the spirit of an individual will only create turmoil in their lives. Therefore, at any point and time when you find your peace departing, you should seek God to determine the cause and correct what needs to be corrected or make whatever adjustment to your thinking, attitude, actions, etc. that might be necessary in order to bring yourself back to a place of peace – that you might continue to enjoy the spiritual rest of God.

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.