Sometimes we forget that we are here on this earth to put on more of Christ and to decrease in the flesh with each passing day. We can lose sight of the truth that putting on more of his love is the greatest thing that any of us can ever do. It’s everything to us! We live in a world where retaliation and vengeance are rampant. People are ready to battle it out in a moment’s notice. To put it bluntly, some individuals are just mean and evil. Others have all this pent-up anger and aggression over wounds from the bad treatment they’ve received in the past. They are all just waiting for the chance to explode. We see this in the unbelieving world, but we also see it in those who know Christ as well. This is all because the peace of God has escaped us, and we need to make it a top priority to get it back.
God commands us in Colossians 3:15(ESV), “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” This is a very simply written commandment, and it will take our entire lives to truly walk it out. This verse means that the same peace Jesus Christ has should also be in us. And not only this, but it must have precedent over everything else in our hearts. The peace of Christ must rule in us! In other words, all else that we feel, think, and do must be yielded to his peace.
Remaining in God’s peace demands that anxiety and anger be put to rest, and many of us have either not understood or neglected God’s requirement on this. In some situations, we have not behaved as lovingly and humbly as we should. God desires that we deal with ourselves honestly, that we empty our hearts of the thoughts, feelings, and attitudes that keep us from walking in His love.
There’s no way of putting it lightly, today many of us are starving our souls. They are malnourished from a lack of spiritual nutrition from God’s Word. This isn’t good and it’s not how Heavenly Father wants any of us to be. 1Thessalonians 5:23 informs us that God created us in such a way that our spirit, soul, and body should be harmoniously yielded to the indwelling Holy Spirit.
When we’re facing difficult situations that challenge us to remain focused and Godly, we need to pause and take a step back. As it stands today, many of our responses to troublesome stress and people are ingrained, because we’ve taught ourselves to yield to the flesh and react poorly. We’ve put flesh over Spirit so long that anger and words that are not seasoned with love roll from our lips without us even thinking about what we’re doing. We must recognize that this is hurting our relationship with God and keeping us separated from the blessings we desire.
God’s Will is that we rise higher and higher as we put on more of Christ. The checking point of our progress is the peace that abides continually in our hearts. It is the evidence that we truly see ourselves as having been raised to new life in Christ. God tells us in Colossians 3:5 to put to death, to kill off the sinful and earthly things that are creeping around in us. Our thoughts are to be those about the brilliance of God’s love and goodness. We ought to have visions of ourselves walking around the Kingdom, continually in the presence of God Almighty. We should be imagining ourselves growing in and exercising the power of Christ, laying hands on people and ministering to them in the supernatural. These are worthy pursuits that move our faith in the right direction. This is how we flush out things like violent outbursts of rage from our thoughts and actions. We begin by training our minds to think heavenly thoughts as we walk in the Spirit.
God has never restricted our choices. He knew that satan would attempt a takeover in the third heaven, but Heavenly Father did not prevent it. A third of the angels fell along with the devil, and God did not destroy them. Rest assured there will be a day of reckoning for satan and his cohorts, but we must understand that evil exists, and our Heavenly Father knew it would. God doesn’t want any of His children to live in darkness. He doesn’t want any part of the way that you and I live to be representative of satan’s kingdom. He raised us to new life in Christ, so that we would leave the old life and its nature behind for good.
Colossians 3:12(NLT) states, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” God has chosen us to be His very own special children, but in their disobedience, Adam and Eve revealed that God will not force us to choose Him and His love. They made the choice to reject His sovereignty and many of us have made this same choice as well, and God has allowed it.
We must understand that it is our highest privilege and greatest honor to do what God says and cloth ourselves in the love of Christ. He did not destroy Adam and Eve when they disobeyed Him. When they made the choice to bow to the devil, God didn’t stop loving them. He still helped them. He knew He would take care of our sin issue in His perfect timing. He would send His Son to rescue us from satan’s darkness, death, and sin. He knew that He would restore us to His original plan of wholeness so we could fellowship with Him. He held the vision of our original design in His mind and made a way for us to get back to it.
We are here on this earth to make the choice about who we are going to be. Will we represent the Kingdom of God as ambassadors of Christ, or will we continually yield to the flesh and refuse to grow in him? It’s up to us and God will not force us either way. Heavenly Father desires that we live in and through Christ, and that we will let our faith in him keep us in perfect peace. No one, no circumstance, no problem, situation, or condition can compare to God’s power. He has set us free through Jesus Christ to live with confidence and spiritual strength. Nothing should take us outside the boundaries of God’s love, and we must stop allowing the devil to goad us into forfeiting our standing in Christ.
Proverbs 16:32(NLT) tells us, “Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.” This is the Word of the Lord! He is teaching us to reign ourselves in and to keep ourselves in Godliness. 2Timothy 1:7(ESV) affirms, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” This is what God has given us through the Spirit of Jesus Christ; power, love, and self-control. It’s our choice to clothe ourselves in Godliness. If we do, we will walk in the peace of Jesus Christ and carry it with us everywhere we go. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 601
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
“Remaining in God’s Peace” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!