Peace! (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore)

The third characteristic of the fruit of the Spirit is Peace.

One of the titles of Jesus way back in Isaiah is the "Prince of Peace." Jesus often said, "Peace be unto you." He also said, 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.--John 14:27

Peace comes to our hearts as we trust Jesus and submit to His authority. When Beth talked about this on the DVD, I thought of my new cat when I first brought him home. My friend said that he was upset because he was in a new place and felt he had to be "in charge of everything." Once he learned that I was the alpha in charge, he calmed down and let me pet him. He became less stressed. That's how it is with us. When problems come, we need to realize that Jesus will take care of them when we submit to His authority and give them over to Him.

Peace is not a lack of pain or grief though, but a lack of confusion and turmoil. Jesus went through a lot of pain on the cross and grieved when he saw people suffering but still had peace in knowing He was doing the will of His father. We too, can have peace in difficult situations as we keep our mind on Him. Peace comes with the authority of Christ in our life. The more we surrender to Christ's authority in our lives, the greater peace we have. When we obey God's word and seek to do His will, He gives us great peace.

Jesus' perfect peace in God's plan gave Him peace in His death. Before we can experience the peace OF God, we must first have peace WITH God by accepting Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for our sin that reconciled us to God. (Col. 1:19-20)

I love that we always have access to God through prayer and it is through prayer and submitting to God that we maintain peace in our lives. Philippians 4:6-7 says:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

This is just so amazing and wonderful!

I hope you will submit to God and experience his peace today regardless of your circumstances. I am enjoyed this Bible study by Beth Moore on Wednesday nights at my church very much so will continue sharing here what I learned with you. It's so encouraging.