Searching for and Maintaining Peace
One of the dominant aspects of spiritual combat is the struggle on the plane of thoughts. To struggle often means opposition between those thoughts that originate in our own spirit, or the mentality of our surroundings or even sometimes from the enemy himself (the origin of the thoughts is of little importance) and which cause us disquietude, fear, discouragement and, on the other hand, those thoughts that could comfort us and reestablish our peace.
In view of this combat, happy is the man who has filled his quiver (Psalm 127) with arrows of good thoughts, that is to say, with solid convictions, based on faith, that nourish one’s intelligence and fortify one’s heart in times of trial.
Among these arrows in a hero’s hand, one of the affirmations of faith that should permanently reside in us is that all the reasons that cause us to lose our sense of peace are bad reasons.
This conviction is most certainly not founded on human considerations. It can only be a certitude of faith, founded on the Word of God.
It does not reside in the reasoning of the world, as Jesus clearly told us: Peace I leave with you, My own peace I give to you; a peace the world cannot give, this is My gift to you.
Let not your hearts be troubled or afraid… (John 14:27).
If we seek peace as the world gives it, if we expect peace in accordance with the reasoning of the world, or with the motivations that accord with the current mentality that surrounds us (because everything is going well, because we aren’t experiencing any annoyances and our desires are completely satisfied, etc.), then it is certain that we will never know peace or that our peace will be extremely fragile and of short duration.
For us believers, the essential reason by virtue of which we can always be at peace does not come from this world.
My kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). It comes from trust in the Word of Jesus.
When the Lord affirms that He gives us peace, that He gives us His peace, these words are divine words, words which have the same creative force as the words that brought the sky and the earth from the void, they carry the same weight as the words that quieted the storm, the words that healed the sick and brought the dead back to life.
Since Jesus tells us, even twice, that He gives us His peace, we believe that this peace is never taken away.
God’s gifts and His calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:29).
It is we who do not always know how to acquire or preserve them. Because quite often we lack faith.
I have told you these things so that you will have peace in Me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage! I have conquered the world (John 16:33).
In Jesus, we may always abide in peace, because He has conquered the world, because He is resurrected from the dead.
By His death, He conquered death, He annihilated the sentence of condemnation that weighs on us. He manifested the benevolence of God toward us.
And with God on our side, who can be against us?… Who could ever separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:31).
“The same everlasting Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.”
Do you need some good book suggestions? Visit:
amzn_assoc_placement = “adunit0”;
amzn_assoc_search_bar = “true”;
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = “meaofgra-20”;
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = “manual”;
amzn_assoc_ad_type = “smart”;
amzn_assoc_marketplace = “amazon”;
amzn_assoc_region = “US”;
amzn_assoc_title = “My Amazon Picks”;
amzn_assoc_linkid = “631530e1c5072f1c3b940d04a68095b0”;
amzn_assoc_asins = “0895551330,0818909064,B000I5MZ6E,0898705959”;
//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US
Thank you. 🙂