Finding Peace: Peace With God

Growing up, I loved the movie Miss Congeniality. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s about an FBI agent who goes undercover at the Miss USA pageant to protect contestants from a string of anonymous threats. In this movie, there’s a scene where the contestants are interviewed about their hopes in life — and all of them give the same clichéd answer: world peace.

Now, this scene was definitely filmed as a parody of the pageant world. But as silly as it may be, it kind of seems like now, more than ever, world peace is truly what we want.

The world we live in today is very unsettled. Whether it’s within political systems and countries at war or concerning our own neighborhoods and families, many of us embody a sense of unease about when the next disaster may strike. Amid this chaos, we find ourselves longing for peace — some type of calm we can hold on to or feel. But how do we achieve this? Or maybe the better question is how do we find it?

If we are to experience peace at its fullest, we need it to encompass three specific areas of our lives:

1️⃣ Peace with God
2️⃣ Peace with ourselves
3️⃣ Peace with others

Today, we’re going to look at what it means to experience peace with God. Before we can do that, however, there is something we need to understand:

Because of sin, we’re born with a natural disposition against God. Our sinful nature causes us to be self-satisfying and act rebelliously against what God desires for His children. If we remain in this sinful state, we cannot be reconciled — nor can we attain peace with God, no matter how hard we try.**

So, now what? If that’s true, how will we ever find peace? Well, the answer lies within the Christmas season. You might be thinking, “What? It’s April. Why on earth are we talking about Christmas?” But stop and think about it! One of our most beloved Christmas songs literally says, “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.” This is because Christmas celebrates God sending His son, Jesus, to redeem our sinful nature and bring about peace.

Jesus lived a sinless life, acting as a perfect sacrifice so that we, sinners, could be reconciled with God [2 Corinthians 5:21]. This is why Scripture tells us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, PRINCE OF PEACE.” — Isaiah 9:6 ESV

Jesus is the one who gives us peace with God. Jesus is the reason our salvation is called the “Gospel of peace.” To have peace with God is to be reconciled with Him through His Son, and that means we no longer have to carry the burdens of our sin and shame. When we struggle, we no longer have to struggle alone — we can continuously run to the Father. We keep our peace with God by repeatedly confessing our failures to Him because when we are truly born again, we live with ongoing attitudes of repentance — being free from the things that weigh us down. This gift of redemption was established the minute we believed that Jesus reconciled us on the cross.

In the Book of John, chapters 14–17 are known as Jesus’ farewell discourse. There, Jesus tells His disciples everything that He wants them to remember once He physically leaves them and ascends into heaven. Towards the end of His discourse, Jesus says this:

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 NLT

This statement is just as true today as it was 2,000 years ago. Until Jesus returns, the world will always be broken, destructive, and at war. But if we put our hope and trust in Jesus, we’ll be able to live in true peace — the kind that passes all understanding [Philippians 4:7].

Friends, have you put your hope in Jesus? Have you experienced reconciliation with God? Without these things, you will never experience true peace. Instead, your life will always feel unsettled and chaotic. Today, I encourage you to take the words of John 16:33 to heart. Memorize them. Write them down and put them somewhere that you’ll see every day. Place them in your heart. As you do, I pray that you’ll find rest in the shadow of the Almighty [Psalm 91:1], knowing that He will be your peace [Ephesians 2:14].

Reference:
**https://www.gotquestions.org/peace-with-God.html