We long for peace. We want peace in the Middle East, Europe, and in Korea. We want peace in our land. We are troubled by scenes of people buying gas masks, duct tape, and plastic. We are even more troubled at the sight of a toddler taking out her pacifier to put on a gas mask. We long for peace in our families. We long for peace in our schools and at our places of employment. We long for peace within the Church. We long for the day that Christians can put aside their differences and denominational labels and work together as the Body of Christ. We long for peace.
Long ago a man sought the perfect painting of peace. Not finding one that satisfied, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the great day of revelation arrived. The judges uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered.
The tensions grew. Only two paintings remained veiled.
As a judge pulled the cover from one, a hush fell over the crowd.
A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.
The man with the vision uncovered the second painting himself, and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace?
A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Stormy-gray clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noises and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. One of its branches reached out in front of the torrential waters as if foolishly seeking to experience its full power.
A little bird had built a nest in the elbow of that branch. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.
That is the peace we need. While we should never cease to work for peace in the world, if we have peace in our souls, then we have a gift that can never be taken away.
How do we gain this peace. Paul told the Galatians that it is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. This peace isn’t something we create. The Holy Spirit produces it within us. However, we can look at ourselves and know that this peace exists.
I can have peace in my soul because…
Jesus is my Savior.
Colossians 1:19-24 (NLT)
19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. 21This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, 22yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed by God to proclaim it.
Take a look at verse 21. "This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions." Before we knew Jesus we were his enemies. We may not have taken up arms against Jesus and his church, but we were his enemies. Why? Because we serve one of two masters: God or Satan. There are no other choices.
When you encounter Jesus for the first time, you feel everything but peace. Every sin, every evil thought, every resentment, every grudge, every greed, and desire becomes obvious. We feel uncomfortable in his presence. We see ourselves for who we really are.
Now look at verses 19 and 20.
"19For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross."
Jesus is our Savior. He has washed us clean with his blood. We have been made right with God. The relationship has been restored. We have been reconciled to God.
Now, listen to this good news in the last half of verse 22 and verse 23. "As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23But you must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News."
Jesus is my Savior. I have peace with God. I have been forgiven for every sin in my past. I will be forgiven for every sin my future when I confess the sin to God. I can stand before God without guilt and without fault. I don’t know about you, but this is peace in my soul.
There is a restlessness within every person. We search for what will calm this restlessness. When we are young we begin looking for relationships that will satisfy the restlessness in our souls. But relationships do not satisfy. We try hobbies, sports, and other interests. They, too, fall short. Then we try careers, family, investments, and community activities. We even try church. But still, our hearts beat with restlessness. Our souls will not find rest, peace, until we rest in the arms of God.
I have peace when Jesus is my Savior.
Is Jesus your Savior? Have you confessed your sin and received forgiveness? Has your soul found rest in the arms of God, Almighty?
I can have peace in my soul because...
Jesus is my Deliverer.
We have peace in our souls because when temptation comes, we have someone stronger than us to deliver us. It is not up to us to fight temptation. All we have to do is to call upon the name of Jesus and he will show us how to escape the temptation. Listen to this promise.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Someone once wrote: "The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you." That’s another way of saying with Paul that we never have temptations greater than we can bear.
· We pray for lighter burdens when we ought to pray for stronger backs.
· We pray for an easier path when we ought to pray for tougher feet.
· We pray for fewer problems when we ought to pray for better solutions.
-- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997). Copied from
Bible Illustrator 3.0, Parsons Technology.
Dave Jackson writes in Leadership (vol. 9, no. 1) of a time when the Lord provided a way of escape for him.
Our train rolled into Kansas City at 1 a.m. Dim lights came on to help the new passengers find seats. Many of us who had been riding home through the night had spread out to occupy two seats apiece.
An attractive woman made her way down the aisle with her bags. She was looking from side to side, hoping for someone to move. I turned toward the window and watched her in the reflection.
"May I sit here?" she asked.
"Sure." I looked up and smiled as I moved over. She threw her things into the rack above and sat down. Near the back of the car, only one of my colleagues had managed to keep his extra space. Lucky guy.
"My name’s Kathy. What’s yours?"
I told her, and we talked quietly for a while. She was on her way to visit her mother after some rough spats with her husband. I was eager to get home and see my wife and family after an exhausting church leadership conference.
Soon we had both slipped off to sleep. At some later stop, I awoke to find Kathy cuddled next to me. "You don’t mind if I lean my head on your shoulder, do you?" she said sleepily.
"Uh, no. I guess not." She was just tired ... wasn’t she? And besides, I had a wonderful wife and a great marriage and would be home before noon. I looked around to see if anyone was noticing.
She cuddled closer. I wondered what she really wanted--or would allow. At first I couldn’t believe what I was thinking. But then it was her fault. She knew exactly what she was doing. I might as well enjoy it. After all, what could happen on a train full of people? Nothing, nothing really ... except what Jesus warned about happening in the heart.
Finally, I excused myself so I could go back and talk with my friend--the "lucky" one with the empty seat beside him. Or maybe I was the lucky one since that extra space was still available. I only knew I didn’t need to stay where I had been.
He concludes the story with this insight.
Perhaps it wasn’t luck at all. Maybe that was the "way of escape" that 1 Corinthians 10:13 talks about, which God had provided from the beginning.
We have peace in our souls because Jesus has promised that with every temptation there is a way of escape.
Are you looking for ways of escape? Or are you looking to see who may be watching? If you want peace in your soul, look for the ways of escape or for the ways that Jesus is giving you strength to resist.
I can have peace in my soul because...
Jesus is my Comforter.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (GW)
3Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the Father who is compassionate and the God who gives comfort. 4He comforts us whenever we suffer. That is why whenever other people suffer, we are able to comfort them by using the same comfort we have received from God. 5Because Christ suffered so much for us, we can receive so much comfort from him. 6Besides, if we suffer, it brings you comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, we can effectively comfort you when you endure the same sufferings that we endure. 7We have confidence in you. We know that as you share our sufferings, you also share our comfort.
Pamela Curry shared this story in Today’s Christian Woman.
Every night my 6-year-old, Julie, and I thank God for one thing about the day. One evening Julie was breaking out in chicken pox, I had the flu, and my husband was out of town. As I tucked Julie into bed, she said, "Mommy, I can’t think of anything to thank God for today. It was a horrible day." We thought for a while more and she finally said, "I know. We can thank him that the day is over."
So we did. "Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life. No matter how difficult it is, we take comfort knowing you are there to help us make it through horrible days."
-- Pamela Curry, San Rafael, CA, Today’s Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart." Copied from SermonIllustrations.com.
Jesus is my comfort. When I am hurting, Jesus understands. When I am misunderstood, Jesus understands. Jesus comforts us through his Word, and through other Christians who have experienced the same suffering, loss, and grief that we are going through.
Joni Erickson Tada shares these thoughts on Jesus being our comforter.
You don’t have to be alone in your hurt! Comfort is yours. Joy is an option. And it’s all been made possible by your Savior. He went without comfort so you might have it. He postponed joy so you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow.
-- Joni Erickson Tada, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 2.
Copied from SermonIllustrations.com
Are you hurting? Do you need comfort? Are you in the grips of grief? Do the claws of disappointment dig deep into your soul? Look to Jesus. He is your Comforter.
I can have peace in my soul because…
Jesus is my Provider.
We have many needs: companionship, food, clothing, shelter, money. The Apostle Paul understood these needs and he understood where the resources came from.
Philippians 4:19 (NKJV)
And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Throughout his ministry, God provided for all Paul’s needs. He brought people into Paul’s life that could help him with the ministry God had called him to do. They provided friendship, support, money, and protection. God even worked through the secular law to provide Paul with transportation to Rome.
There was a man who couldn’t sell his home after a move, he decided to rent it out. Twice in three years, tenants broke the lease and skipped town after trashing the place, leaving my friend with thousands of dollars in repairs.
He tried to sell the house again, and it sat on the market for months while he made mortgage payments he couldn’t afford. His credit cards maxed out, foreclosure became a possibility, and his stress was sky-high.
When he told friends at church about his problem, they responded in a big way. Within 48 hours:
· His couples’ Bible study gave him and his wife a check that more than covered their next mortgage payment, giving them more time to sell the house.
· His Sunday school teacher, a realtor and financial adviser, prayed with him and his wife, encouraging them and offering wise counsel.
· A church elder, an attorney my friend could never afford, spent 90 minutes on the phone with him, giving solid advice.
The man was striking out, and the church stepped up to the plate. But it never could have happened if he hadn’t put his pride aside and made his needs known.
-- Mark Moring, editor of Men of Integrity. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 1. Copied from SermonIllustrations.com.
Jesus is my provider. In a time when the stock market is hitting bottom, corporations are cutting back, people are losing their jobs, and prices for goods and services continue to rise, we wonder how will we make it. We can have peace in our souls because we know that no matter what happens with the economy, no matter what happens in Iraq, Jesus will provide our needs.
Are you worried about your finances? Are you worried about how you will provide for the needs of your family? Cast all your cares upon Jesus and he will take care of you. Jesus is my provider.
Closing
A perfect painting of peace. A small bird sitting on its eggs in a nest sleeping, while beneath its nest is a raging water fall and stormy clouds overhead.
Do you have this kind of peace?
