Announcement:
I am announcing my brand-new audiobook release entitled The Daily Christian: Peace. If you prefer listening over reading, this audiobook will help you stay peaceful as you drive around the crazy traffic of the Christmas season! Or pop in your headset and let me inspire you as you wrap the gifts or bake cookies for the kids. Check it out below:
For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people. I Corinthians 14:33 (NLT)
I want you to imagine what heaven may look like right now. Do you believe it to be a place of chaos and disorder? Do you imagine the Throne Room of the Lord filled with angels running around all stressed out? Do you see the Lord anxiously scratching His head, confused about what to do next? Or do you imagine a place of order, peace, and tranquility?
Our scripture today states that God is a God of peace, not disorder.
Peace is freedom from disturbance, a state of quiet and tranquility. It is freedom from war or violence.
Now let’s consider our world and the news we can watch on television or the events we read about on the internet. Would you believe our society to be one devoid of war and violence? A place of quiet and tranquility? I’d say, “No way!”
If God is a God of peace, then I want to invite Him into every moment of my days. Peace, for the most part, is absent from our world. Our world is noisy, violent, and filled with adversity and contention. Anyone who can bring a sense of peace to it should be welcomed.
In the scripture referenced above, Paul was trying to get his audience to understand that disorganization and discord were to be avoided in the gatherings of the church. The God of Peace was right there with them. He assumed that they would get aligned with God. He expected God’s peaceful presence to permeate the atmosphere of every meeting they had. The fact that he needed to address this matter suggests that the members of the early church struggled at times to peacefully co-exist.
I have earlier discussed the story of Jesus visiting the home of Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha.1 He arrived, and Martha came out of the kitchen, scowling and rebuking Mary for not helping with the preparations. It was pretty insulting. It broke the tranquility of the moment and disturbed the peace in the room. Martha was sincere in her desire to please the Lord, but she went about it the wrong way.
If she had taken a little more time in the Lord’s presence, she might have had a better idea of what He needed. Jesus said that Mary chose the better option and that He could not fault her for that.
Today, decide to welcome the God of Peace into your moments and meetings. Talk to Him about every problem that may rob you of your peace, tranquility, and serenity. Put Him in charge, and line your emotions and actions up with what you know will please Him.
Right now, invite the Lord into your anxiety and conflicts. Soon you will feel a sense of His peaceful Presence permeating your situation.
May the Lord of Peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
Action Steps:
Stop what you are doing for a moment.
Stop fussing and thinking about what agitates you right now.
Look to the Lord and talk to Him in prayer. Talk to Him about your concerns.
Listen to His still, calming voice.
End your conversation by asking Him to give you His peace that passes all understanding.
Repeat this process whenever you feel conflicted today: Stop. Look. Listen.
Remember, God is a God of peace.
See Luke 10:38–42.
