The Bible tells us in Colossians 3:15 to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, because as members of one body we are called to peace, and to be thankful. As Christians, the one thing that should consistently rule within us is that peace. We should be a people who live from a place of rest in Christ. And yet, so often, that peace feels like the hardest thing to hold on to.
Why is there so much unrest inside us? Before we go any further, let us do a heart check. Take a moment to assess the state of your heart right now. What is the word that comes to mind?
This is an open-ended test, so there is no single correct answer. But checking our hearts helps us realign our focus as believers, especially in times like this. The world is loud, is it not? And the things that flood our hearts and minds through the many outlets of the world are not the things that bring peace.
There is also the weight of daily living, just getting through one day and then the next, and the challenges that trouble the mind along the way. The world may not be intentionally trying to steal our peace, but we lose it just the same. This is why we must be intentional, and even more so as Christians. I believe every believer has been through this.
I remember a particular time in my life when, anytime I was going through something bad, the first thing that came to mind was not to look to the Lord. I immediately began to worry. And nothing gets rid of peace faster than worry. Many of us have experienced this.
We see many instances in scripture where Jesus spoke of peace. Even then, you could tell He was very particular about this subject. He was particular about us knowing that peace is needed to navigate through life. Many of His words had a reassuring tone, as though He was preparing us for the things we would face and calming us at the same time, filling us with His peace.
In John 14:27, He says, “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. ” Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, to present our requests to God.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Now, there is something I appreciate from the testimony of scripture. Not once were we assured a life without tribulations. Jesus never promised us that.
In fact, He goes as far as to tell us in John 16:33, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
” Look at that second line. In this world you shall have tribulations. This is not negotiable. We will be troubled.
We will be challenged. We will be sad. Things we do not expect, things that can break our hearts and challenge our faith, will come to us. They will seek to take the place of peace in our hearts and trouble us.
But these verses also tell us of the victory we have through the words of Jesus. He says, “Take heart, I have overcome the world. ” And in the first line of that verse, we see a familiar word again. He says, “I have told you these things so that you may have peace.
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So if we are to survive and thrive in this world, we must always be able to key into the peace of Jesus Christ. We must hold on to that peace. That peace is our clarity. It is our focus and our victory.
The question then becomes, how do we hold on to that peace? Why is it always so difficult to be at peace when the storms of life are raging? Two scriptures point to what we need to know here. Mark 4:39-41 says, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace!
Be still! ’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. ” He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?
” And they were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him! ” Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. ” These two verses tell us something important.
They tell us that the main reason we do not live in the peace of God is that many of us do not truly trust the Lord to bring His peace into the issues of our lives. We do not have faith in ourselves to command our peace. Also, we do not have access to this peace because our minds are not stayed on Him. Our minds are not fixed on Jesus.
When the storm was raging and the disciples called on Jesus to save them, Jesus spoke peace to the sea. After that, He turned to His apostles and asked, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? ” From His words, it is clear that if the disciples had faith themselves, they would not have needed to call on Him to calm the storm at all.
They could have spoken peace to it themselves, and the sea would have been calm. I believe Jesus is saying the same thing about every issue in our lives. If we had faith and spoke peace to every difficult situation, we would be victorious every single time. And perfect peace comes from the Lord.
If we keep our gaze on Him consistently, rather than on our situations and challenges, and we trust Him, the Bible says He will keep us in perfect peace. So to access perfect peace, we must have faith in the Lord, and we must keep our gaze on Him at all times and in every situation. If you find yourself lacking in this area this morning, if you have been struggling with worry or have just given in to it and it is becoming a part of your daily life, and you want to step out of that thinking pattern and into the peace of God, then I invite you to say this prayer with us. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for this morning and for this day.
I thank You for this word that You have brought to me. I thank You for helping me see the truth, and for helping me see the places where I have stepped out of line. I can now see the places where I have stepped out of faith in You and lost Your peace in my heart. Heavenly Father, I ask this morning that You forgive me for shifting my gaze away from You and letting worry into my life.
I ask that You forgive me for not letting my mind be stayed on You. I have tried to sort things out my way, and that has borne no result. If anything, it has troubled me even more. I bring all my cares and burdens back to You this morning.
I will no longer try to sort things out myself, but I will follow Your guidance. I will no longer let the situations I am in overwhelm me. I will no longer let them take Your place and Your peace from my life. Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask this morning that You breathe new life into me.
Help me to trust You. Help me to know above all else that You can calm every storm that comes my way. I no longer live in doubt of what You are capable of. From this moment forth, I step into assurance of You.
I step into certainty, and I step away from doubt and fear. Father, I ask also that You help me build my faith in You, particularly on this subject of peace, so that every time I find myself in situations that tend to take away my peace, I can be ready to face them head on. Help me to stay in Your word until the reality of Your peace becomes a part of me. Help me to pray through and be forever liberated from every burden of fear and worry.
Right now, Lord, I ask the peace of the Lord to flood my heart, my mind, my soul, and my spirit. I decree peace over every storm in my life. I decree peace over every situation in my family that has filled me with worry. I speak over every storm right now and I say, “Peace, be still.
” Peace be still to every circumstance. Peace be still to every fear. Peace be still to lack. Peace be still to uncertainties.
I live from the peace of Christ from this time forth. Heavenly Father, I thank You this morning because You have heard me. I thank You for Your peace and for Your strength. I thank You for the new life absent of fear and worry that You are breathing into me right now.
Thank You, Jesus, for answered prayers. To You alone be all the glory. Amen. Thank you for saying this prayer with us today.
I welcome you to a new day filled with His peace. I know that with this newfound faith, you will command new things today. If anything in particular stood out to you in this message, please feel free to share it with us in the comment section. If you have any specific prayer requests, you can share those as well.
We would love to pray for you. I hope you are blessed by this. God bless you, and may His peace remain with you always. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1 that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
This verse tells us that God has a time for everything. Our God is a God of times and seasons. He has a specific time by which He does things, and He has ordained a time for every purpose and every season we will come into. It is necessary that we understand those times and seasons.
Or even if we do not fully understand them, we should know and believe that He has a plan for our lives. The matter of times and seasons in the Christian faith is one that cannot be overlooked. It is central to many things we are as believers, and many times it is central to upholding our faith and making sure our hope does not die. I am sure every believer here knows of the waiting period.
Some of us have been through it. Some of us are going through it right now. Trusting God for something that does not seem forthcoming can be trying. It can dampen one’s faith.
That is why, as children of God, we must come to an understanding of His plan for our lives. And this is possible. That is the first thing I want to assure us of. The Bible, in 1 Chronicles 12:32, tells us of a people within the fold of Israel.
It says, “And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do. The heads of them were two hundred, and all their brethren were at their commandment. ” The men of Issachar were men who knew what Israel ought to do. They knew what God was saying to Israel at the time.
And because of this, Israel always had direction. They knew where they were going. The same must be our testimony as believers. We must be able to understand what God is saying every time.
If we do not understand what God is saying, we can get things mixed up. In fact, maybe the reason it seems we are waiting on some things in our lives is because God is expecting us to be doing other things. He is expecting us to be set in some other way before that blessing can come. But because we cannot hear Him leading and guiding us, we think we are waiting on Him when He is actually waiting on us.
There are many genuine seasons of waiting. I cannot take that away from us. But there are also seasons of waiting that are not really waiting. In fact, we are just wasting time.
I remember a time when I felt I wanted to do more career-wise. I had offered the same services for years and was beginning to feel that my prospects were slim. I was not getting the types of jobs, the types of contracts I wanted. So I started praying in that season.
I wanted God to make a way and open new doors. I prayed for a while until I got the instruction one day to get quiet with God. I was not to pray or study. I was just to stay and wait on the Lord.
And as I waited, I had clarity. I caught a word to build myself in the line of the open doors. I thought I was ready, but I was not. So I listened and I started.
It was not immediate, but the change did come, and when it came, I was ready. However, there are times, in fact many times, when this is not the case. There are moments when the best we can really do is wait. Because in that season, waiting is a part of the process of where He is leading us.
That is why we must understand His perfect time in every matter. In this season, being patient is the key. You may feel that it is time, but God is saying clearly that it is not the time. Sometimes what we need is not an in-depth explanation as to why God is saying not now.
Many times we do not even get that explanation. But what we do need is the knowing that God is saying not now. Remember that “not now” is not “not ever. ” It just means not now.
And if you know that it is something God has promised in His word, and you are just not seeing it right now, then you can rest assured that it is coming. God has a plan for you to have it already. That is why we must begin to build on patience. The Bible says in Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.
” The book of Habakkuk 2:3 also says, “This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
” Here, Habakkuk tells us that if it seems slow in coming, we should wait patiently, because it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. I find that this verse stuns me in some ways, because although many of us have been waiting in this season, the Bible is assuring us that what God has in store will not be delayed. Right now, many of us are thinking we are already delayed.
But many times, what we think is delay is not delay before the Lord. Sometimes there is delay, but sometimes, in fact many times, it is not delay. It is process. That is why Habakkuk says the vision is for a future time.
There is a particular time for it, and this time will surely come, and the vision will be fulfilled. It may seem slow in coming, but it will be fulfilled without doubt. And we can rest in that promise. We can believe that no matter how slow in coming our desires and promises may be, they will surely come, and they will not be delayed.
They will come at the exact time the Lord has appointed. And as much as we are waiting on the Lord, it is necessary in this season for us to build our strength, if we want to build up patience or the ability to hear Him so we know the next steps of our lives. For this reason, I believe it is necessary for us to draw strength and clarity from heaven. One of the best ways we can do that is through prayer.
Let us take a moment to say these few words together in faith. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for this new day. I thank You for the privilege to learn of You again, to draw from Your words and know what You are saying to me in this season. Thank You for being mindful of me.
Thank You for sending this word at such a time as this. Thank You for giving me hope and peace, particularly at this time when the journey of life is beginning to feel a little hard and a little trying. Father, this morning I ask for clarity. Help me to see the areas where I need to wait on You, and help me to see where You are the one waiting on me.
Help me to see where I need to take action. Open my eyes, my heart, and my mind, and give me understanding of times and seasons, just like the men of Issachar. Help me to know what I need to do per time and where I need to be. Help me to know what You are saying each time so I do not take a wrong step.
Help me to know where I need to improve and work on myself so I do not waste time. Father, I ask where courage is needed for me to take the next step. Let there be an abundant supply. Father, I also ask that You teach me to wait on You.
Teach me not to be in too much of a hurry and miss what You are saying altogether. Let my heart not lead me. Lord, help me to wait on You. Give me the spirit of patience to wait on You.
Help me to build on this spirit so that even when it looks like time is going or when it looks like I am wasting time, I can rest assured in You. I can rest in You and know that Your promises do not fail. They may seem slow, but they will not be delayed. They will come at the appointed time.
I will have my promises, my desires, and everything You have promised at the right time. Your word says in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ” I know that all Your plans for me are good, Lord, and I know that I can rely on them. I can rely on You to fulfill them at the right time.
Father, I also pray this morning for strength. Help me to be strengthened even as I wait. Weariness has made its way into my life. I confess that many times I have been tired of waiting, tired of praying for the same thing over and over again.
I ask that You cause a restoration in my heart. Let hope fill my heart again. Let strength come into me in the places where I have felt weary. I pray, Lord, that You strengthen me through this phase, through this process, so that I can come out victorious on the other side.
I decree that this period of waiting will not cause my faith to diminish. It will not cause my hope to diminish. Rather, it will build endurance in me. It will build strength in me, and it will build faith in me.
Father, I thank You because You have heard me this morning. I know that these prayers have been answered today, and from here on things will be different for me. A new strength floods me. New hope fills my heart.
New ideas fill my mind, and my eyes are open to Your directions, even as I navigate through this season, in Jesus’ name. Amen. If you said this prayer with us today, I celebrate with you. I know the days are about to be much easier, and your long-awaited promises are coming speedily according to the timing of the Lord.
Do not forget to stay strengthened, and do not forget to keep believing. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
