Issue 1418 – Peace – April 10, 2024
Yesterday, I was reading and meditating on a familiar piece of Scripture. If you have been a believer for any time, you may have memorized it.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
In my meditation, I primarily focused on the idea of peace.
Peace is a warm, fuzzy concept in the eyes of the world. It implies a lack of conflict, a mellowness, a tranquillity of emotion and life. The truth is that peace escapes the world more often than not.
There are always conflicts; even when we are alone, there is internal conflict. We may have tranquil moments, but they are relatively rare. We often strive for “one more” to give us peace … one more toy, one more promotion, one more partner, one more drink … They fail and leave us even less peaceful than before.
There is a conflict, a longing hardwired into our souls, that only God can fill. He is our peace.
The Greek word for peace here is “irene” (ey-ren-ah). While in the
Scriptures can mean a lack of conflict; it more typically means the peace of God, the path of peace (salvation), the peaceful state of knowing you are reconciled to God and secure in His plan, or the state of believers after death.
Irene is used similarly to the Hebrew “shalom” or peace in the Old Testament. Shalom means so much more than peace between two parties. It describes the state of universal wholeness; peacefulness; flourishing; joy; and fulfillment that only God can bring.
In short, to have true shalom is to have and be all God has created us to be.
Christ himself is our peace, our “irene,” our shalom.
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility byabolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:14-22
Christ reconciles us to the Father forever, and the Father is in control of
all things. There is security in knowing that whatever the world throws at you, no matter how dark things get, the Spirit seals you, and the Lord will not let you go.
As our relationship with the Lord grows, as we know more about Him and trust Him more, our peace grows. The more we know and trust Him, the more we flourish despite our circumstances.
Until next time, may you grow in true peace and offer the hope of true peace to others. May you know God’s peace even in conflicted times.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)