KykNET Lent Guide 2023Sample

Week 2: Peace

Day 5: Peace as a Mindset

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matt 5:9 NIV

Jesus gives us His peace. He shows us the life of a peacemaker. Living a life of peace is not determined by this world’s events or circumstances. Paul also writes of this peace that surpasses circumstance, thoughts, and emotions in Philippians 4:6-7:

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7 NLT

The Greek word for “worry” means to be torn apart, to be in pieces, to be fragmented. It is a way in which we often begin to operate. Paul writes and says, you are invited to another way of life. There is another structure, an inner functioning, that we can enter, in spite of what is happening around us, and in spite of what is happening in the world, and in spite of what your life might look like, you can live with God.

He says that this way of life is characterised by peace. This is what will come to you if you can develop a consciousness of God with you, and can live your life with that consciousness. God will give you peace. Eugene Petersen translates peace as a sense of wholeness, of everything coming together for good. You can enter your life with an attitude that everything in your life will eventually come together.

It is a deep belief that my life is in the hands of a good God and that whatever crosses my path, He will work together into my life; and that things will work out fine, no matter what my life might look like now.

Exercise:

Every time you see something broken, bent, fragmented, or torn today, pray the repetition prayer and trust that God works everything together for the good in your life.

Repetition Prayer:

God, I ask for the grace to experience your peace that surpasses all understanding.