Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Romans 5:1, ” Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ” 

Background

Peace. Some of us have it and some don’t. Some yearn for it like they would for water after a week in the desert. There are people and nations around the world who have not known peace for a generation or more. Others only experience some form of peace when they leave the confines of their own home. The worst battles they fight, unfortunately, are with the ones who should bring them the most joy. In the movie Fireproof , Caleb is accepting of the idea of he and his wife getting a divorce. His Christian buddy Michael warns him that divorce is a hard thing, but Caleb says he’ll take it if it brings peace. But Michael tells Caleb that he should want the right kind of peace. Webster defines peace in several ways, and one of them includes ” harmony in personal relations. ” What Caleb was settling for wasn’t peace, but more of a deliverance from the relationship that he couldn’t make work. He was broken, but he wanted to blame it on the relationship and let it be cast to the side. 

Application

Many people think that they have peace with God. They think that because there is food on the table, money in the bank, their kids aren’t into any trouble, and they have fun things to do on the weekends, that their lives are in accord with God. But those blessings don’t mean that they are at peace with God. Peace with God is a harmony and unity with God our Father through faith in what His beloved Son accomplished for us on the cross. It is not merely a lacking of God’s heavy hand on your life. It may very well involve intense struggles and disappointments and some not very peaceful situations. It stems from the faith we have in the bedrock assurance that we are broken at the core, and only God’s love and grace can overcome that. Peace is bestowed on us directly by God and channeled to us through any situation by means of our faith. That’s the right kind of peace. Everything else is nothing more than a temporary truce. 

Charge

As we seek Him today, stop trying to fix what you think is robbing you of peace and surrender to the One who can give you what you don’t have.