Abiding in the Prince of Peace | How to Win Your Mental War 預覽

Prince of Peace

If you are not healthy in your emotions, I don't see how you can walk in the peace of God. He created your feelings as much as He did your Spirit and body, and He has a purpose in them. That means we have a personal responsibility to grow in our emotions in God's way. When we don't, we are left with the carnage of emotional dysfunction in our relationships with people and God. 

Some think peace is simply the absence of conflict. Others understand peace as living in harmony with nature and humanity. Still, others would say that ultimate peace is not attainable on this side of heaven. 

I want to start the conversation about peace by saying there is always hope in Christ, and I have discovered that in Him is the only place you can find real peace in this life. It starts with Him and is always about Him. When we approach any topic from His vantage point, we gain eternal perspective from a God who is beyond anything we can imagine. What if you could find total peace in the person of Jesus? What if the hopeless situations in your life could be infused with eternal hope? What if God would turn your sorrow into joy and then use your story to help others? Would it be worth the time to pursue Him? 

Before defining what peace I am talking about, let's introduce some antonyms or opposites of peace. Anxiety, fear, stress, mental unrest, disturbance, disorder, hostility, hopelessness, and worry are a few words that fight against peace in our lives.  As you read through this list, which of those words do you relate to in your current circumstances? Maybe you are at a breaking point and are struggling? Perhaps you have related well to this list and are looking for hope. Maybe your current season does not find you in a struggle defined by those words, but many do, and at some point, you will as well. I want to encourage you to continue reading and ask God to invade your unrest with His peace. He is able and willing to do just that. 

Advent changed it all

Advent in definition simply means arrival. The advent I am referring to is that of Jesus Christ. His arrival, death, and resurrection produced an open door for us to have restored fellowship with God. The verse above calls Jesus the Prince of Peace. The Hebrew word that we translate as a prince is defined as commander, chief, ruler, leader. The Hebrew word we translate peace means prosperity, success, welfare, deliverance, salvation, completeness, soundness, peace. If you put this together, we can say that Jesus Christ is the commander and chief of my prosperity, success, welfare, deliverance, salvation, completeness, soundness, and peace. WOW! Did you catch all of that? When I abide in Christ, I have access to a peace that the world simply cannot offer. Jesus is the ruler of my peace if I will humbly submit to Him. 

When I have peace with God, it will produce the peace of God. This peace we are discussing is a fruit of abiding in Christ. It does not come any other way.  

Take Away: 

1. Have you made Jesus Lord of your life and invited Him to be your Prince of Peace?

2. Anxiety, fear, stress, mental unrest, disturbance, disorder, hostility, hopelessness, and worry are a few words that fight against peace in our lives.  As you read through this list, which of those words do you relate to in your current circumstances?

3. How would you describe the word peace? What are some differences between worldly peace and the peace we read about in the Bible?