Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ~Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
The term to “rule” means to have ultimate power, control, and dominion. Scripture teaches we are to let peace rule in our hearts. That means we have a say as to whether or not it does. Ultimately it is up to you and me to choose what we will let rule in our heart. The peace has been given. Jesus says in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (NIV) We can either let peace rule or we can let our hearts be troubled, the choice is ours and God's word confirms it. A troubled heart comes when we start listening to the enemy. He tells us we aren’t good enough or we haven’t done enough so guilt and shame trouble our hearts. He tells us that others have disappointed us or betrayed us, so we let anger and unforgiveness trouble our hearts. He tries to convince us we will not be blessed or prosperous in what we do so we get mad at God when things don’t go our way instead of trusting in the Lord to turn everything for our good. The enemy has a myriad of tactics that he brings against us in the form of thoughts every day. We fight those thoughts with the word of God, and we don’t fight for victory, we fight from victory. But we have to know what Christ has made us victorious over. To live by Gods word and maintain our peace takes faith and faith requires both understanding and perseverance. Truly living by faith and trusting Gods word no matter what you see or how you feel is exactly how the Lord expects us to act. The peace of Christ replaces chaos and chaos comes when we choose to believe a lie or half-truth about any given situation.
One of the biggest enemies to holding our peace is exhaustion. "Biting off more than we can chew” seems to be the theme of our hectic culture today. Dictionary.com describes the word hectic as “characterized by continual activity and haste, the lack of any time to rest or relax, and a sense of things barely under control”. Do any of those definitions describe your life by chance? When was the last time you had a really peaceful day? Week? Year? Some would think that having a full year of nothing but peace was completely unachievable and it would be if we weren’t living by faith. To live by faith, we are required to trust God that we have been given peace and it is our job to exercise authority over troubles and chaos. Colossians 3:15 tells us peace is supposed to rule in our hearts and in our lives. Peace is the condition of wholeness and a sense of well-being, and it is completely dependent upon the presence of God. It has been said we are all born into this world with a deep sense of being lost. When we find God, we find home. Don’t let the chaos and busyness of this world cost you the peace Jesus died for you to have. It’s in His presence we receive His peace. Three times in the New Testament we are told to “seek peace and pursue it”. You could translate that seek God and pursue Him. If you want peace in your life instead of chaos, seek the presence of God today.
There is lasting peace for those who love your teachings. Nothing can make those people stumble. ~Psalm 119:165 (GW)
In what areas of your life have you traded chaos for peace?
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