“What’s wrong, my friend?”
“I’m just so miserable…and I’m not even sure why anymore.”
“I can empathize. I’ve been there myself on more than one occasion in my life.”
“Tell me how to find peace…please!”
“Get yourself a good Bible. I use the MacArthur Study Bible, English Standard Version. If you promise to read it, I’ll buy one for you!”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course I would! I want those I love to have the same peace that I have.”
“What’s the secret?”
“Well, there’s no secret; but, I’ll tell you this…if you want to experience the peace that Christ has promised you in the Bible, then the easiest way to find it is to obey His commandments.”
“Hmmmm…good point…I can’t say I’ve been very obedient as of late.”
“No better time than the present to course-correct. As the Bible says in Lamentations 3:22-23, ‘The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’”
“How soon I forget. Thanks, you’re a true friend.”
“I know.”
Have you ever had an interlude like the one above with someone you love? Has someone been a true friend to you when you’ve been down or depressed? The remedy is never complicated or out of reach. In fact, God encourages us to reach for our Bibles, to seek His love through the study of His Word. God doesn’t reject those who humbly seek him; rather, He gives them the way of salvation and deliverance. That pathway always begins with commandments because it’s only possible to communicate with you clearly if you’re first oriented to Him. Following God’s commandments is like God saying, “Look at me while I talk to you!” In other words, we can’t expect to hear Him if we’re distracted or focused on other things when we ought to be fellowshipping with Him, intimately.
Great peace have those who love your law;
nothing can make them stumble.
— Psalm 119:165
The Bible clearly states that if we want to enjoy peace in our lives, we must cling to God’s “law” (aka His commandments). There’s no other way to manufacture peace outside of the boundary conditions that God has set forth. Any attempt to put this truth to the test is met with guaranteed misery.
Do not be deceived. Peace is the result of righteousness (aka of being right in the context of obedience to God’s commandments).
Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you to profit,
who leads you in the way you should go.
Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river,
and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;
your offspring would have been like the sand,
and your descendants like its grains;
their name would never be cut off
or destroyed from before me.”
— Isaiah 48:17-19
Life presents you with myriad options as to how you might choose to live it out. Each day there’s a flood of alternatives you can choose from that will pull you away from obeying God’s commandments. The god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), Satan, has designed a world system that specializes in tempting you towards disobedience, which is tantamount to tempting you further and further away from godly peace.
“I [Jesus] have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
— John 16:33
Always remember that peace with God implies friction with the world. You have to make a choice; you cannot be a friend of the world (with the wicked) and a friend of God. Any attempt to sidestep this reality results in a loss of peace.
“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”
— Isaiah 48:22
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
— James 4:4
Contrary to what most contemporary so-called “Christians” think, you cannot straddle the fence between obedience to God and friendship with the world. The truth is that there’s simply no harmony to be had between the two spheres of existence. There are very practical reasons why peace is fleeting for many Christians. Simply put, it’s because they do not believe what I’m writing here; more importantly, they do not believe what the Word of God has to say on the subject.
The way to obtain peace is non-negotiable; fellowship with God through obedience to His will and you receive peace, fellowship with the world and you lose it.
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
— 2 Corinthians 6:14
Learn to be very practical about your choices. Don’t just verbally assent to them. See your choices manifest in your life, your habits, your routines, even. If you say you want God’s peace then dedicate your whole life to Him and don’t look back! Guard yourself from the distractions of this world, for they are meant to rob you of the one thing you truly seek!
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever,
for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.
— Isaiah 26:3-4
The psalmist said it so well.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah
But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.
There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”
You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
— Psalm 4
The Apostle Peter echoed the psalmist’s heart on the topic of finding peace. Notice how practical Peter is when speaking about the road to peace.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
— 1 Peter 3:8-12
There’s a really easy road to peace and it begins with obedience. Obedience does you the grand favor of focusing your attention on the one Person who can actually give you said peace. God is saying, “Look at me when I talk to you.” When you look at Him, He says, “I love you. I want you to have My peace. I want you all to Myself. Focus on Me and I will take care of you always. Trust Me.” Selah.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins