How to Let God's Peace Reign In You By Rev. Chris Rice "Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am. I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ s sufficiency]." (Philippians 4:11-13, Amp,) Prayer: Lord, your grace is always right on time. You know all our needs and you know how to meet them. I get afraid for many things, but you know the truth all the time. Help me Lord to live in your truth, that you are in control and know just how to take care of me. In Jesus' Name, Amen. Dear Friends, My question to you is: Is God the source of your life? Life's persistent question is, "How do you measure success?" And your daily answer reflects what you are putting your trust in, what you cling to, what you are really hoping for. As I look back over my life, I 1
recall that I have always had many things to be thankful for, but there have been times when I found many more things to be anxious about. There were times when I spent far too long trying to dig my way out of my problems, because I had forgotten who the Source of Life is. Oh, I could spout from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but I had lost touch with Jesus. And I'll tell you now, what a hellish place that is to be in. As a young man I would rise and go into work before the sun rose in the morning, and on summer days I would come home and retire to sleep long after the sun had set, just to make a little extra money so I could feel like I had something. But looking back on those days now, the time spent with my wife and children would have been much more valuable. I learned a valuable lesson from working all those extra hours; the extra toys and the nicer looking abode, and the better vacations did not satisfy. Money does not create peace at home, it does not strengthen your marriage, it does not let your kids know you love them, only living for Christ and doing His will has done that for me. In the Scriptures we find that true success in life is found in letting God's Peace reign in our lives. That peace is what God really wants for us as people and for all creation. And we really can have that peace in an age that does not know the meaning of the word "Enough". Our age thinks of success in terms of accumulation, and moving quickly. But God's word teaches us another way to be. It doesn't teach us that we can be free of adversity. It doesn't teach us that we should strive to live comfortably. But it does teach us that we can let God's Peace reign in us. Psalm 127:1-2 says that "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builder s labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat---for he grants sleep to those he loves. (NIV) In our country we have a crisis in affordable housing. It's not that there aren't 2
enough houses for people who need them. I've heard that there are anywhere from 6 and 24 empty houses for every homeless person in this country. Our real national crisis is in determining what and who housing is for. We can't seem to come to agreement on whether housing is for people to dwell in or whether it's better on bank statements as real and future potential capital. The laborers "labor in vain" when the Lord does not "build the house." Similarly, we seem to have a security problem in this country. No matter how many police we have, armed national guards, fully automatic assault rifles, it seems our "watchmen stand guard in vain." It's a shame when our prison system seems to provide the majority of housing, mental health care, and education in this state. Missouri seems proud of it and doesn't consider it a problem, until of course prisoners are turned out on the streets of St. Louis with no place to go. Then the neighborhood improvement committee is looking for someone to blame. When the Lord is not our watch over the city, we can't be secure no matter how well armed our citizens are. St. Louis County declares a State of Emergency when people turn out to demonstrate, because when it's not in a state of emergency business as usual means devising new citations for everything from walking in the street to letting your hedges grow beyond the ordinance length. There's a lot of "early rising" to go to work, and much "toil for food to eat", but it's all in vain. It hurts to hear this truth, that the rat race ends not with the prize but with the realization one is still a rat. This is not what God desires. He "gives sleep to those he loves", is the promise here. God does not stand by and bless the good things we do when we give him a little. He wants us to do all that we do in Him and through Him. I remember touring a museum on vacation years ago that was all about wood dredged from the bottom of the lakes surrounding Michigan. The founder of the museum was a 3
man who'd spent his life diving for sunken treasure. His life's work was to find thousands of board feet of this valuable wood, raise it to the surface and then treat it so that it was reusable as art and furniture. As we were led around and shown how his factory worked, the tour guide stopped us at a particular showcase full of little found treasures. There were gold pieces and valuable trinkets, and they were all fashioned into a large cross. The tour guide made it clear that this piece was given to the area Bishop to demonstrate just how religious the man was. He'd done really well for himself, and so he took part of what he'd made and gave it to the church. It was very beautiful, but I couldn't help thinking to myself that if it was not all done for God, than surely none of it was. But don't we all do this at times? God gives us our abilities and he gives us work to do, and instead of seeing these as gifts from God we think they are our own to command, and that He just wants us to point a little finger to heaven on camera or nod our head in prayer every now and then. We forget that He is the Builder and the Watchman and that real peace comes when we serve Him. We will not know real peace until we repent from trying to play God, and instead seek His will. What we learn is that He will give real wisdom and provision when we seek Him. The Apostle Paul wrote while in prison in Rome that he had learned to be "content in whatever state" he was in. Whether "well fed or going hungry", having more than enough or "being in want," he knew that he could "do all things through Christ who gives me strength". (Philippians 4:4) Now I don't know about you, but I have known real hunger in my life. I practice fasting where I go without food for a time, and there've been other times when I was skipping meals because there was just not enough food. And what I've learned is that it is the times when I've had too much that leave me feeling spiritually poor. It is easier to forget God when things are going well than it is when you don't know how you're going to make it through. It's really a matter of 4
expectations. My mind and body learn to expect things at certain times. And when food and clothes are not something I worry about, it's easy to get my eyes off the Lord. Following Jesus is not about food or clothing, it's not even about housing or health care. In fact, it's not about YOU or ME at all. Jesus came not to do his own will, but the will of the Father. The key to letting God's peace rule and reign in our lives is understanding that while the world may be losing its collective mind all around us, our real citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:18-21) While many live as enemies of the cross of Christ, pursuing the lusts that war against their soul, in Christ we can know God's peace. This doesn't mean that we will be escapists, people who try to keep only the faithful in our exclusive club, but rather that we won't lose sight of our true desire: God's Kingdom, power and glory. We will know real pain in our churches and on our streets. There will be times when we just don't understand how it can be so awful. So long as injustice persists and very few hold on to the majority of resources and use them for their own selfish interests, we should know great travail. Our people are the wall-bruised people, if we are people of God at all. And yet we are to rejoice. Our rejoicing is not the self-satisfied yawnings of the rich and fat, but the Christ-filled praises of the children of the Kingdom. Paul's theme is that whatever we have belongs to Christ, because we ourselves belong to Him. "God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called." "What God requires, He provides." These little adages point to God as the source of our lives. The Apostle Paul had reason to be anxious, we read in Acts 24:24-27 about how he had to stand before the Roman procurator of Judea named Felix. As soon as Paul started speaking of righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix got scared. Felix no doubt was looking to be bought off by Paul and find the same old route out of a risky decision. But Paul's citizenship was not of this world. Felix sent him away, but kept 5
bringing him back, hoping he'd get a bribe. And things went on like this for 2 years until Festus replaced Felix. How could a prisoner of Rome turn this anxiety inducing trial on its head? Paul never forgot who he was or what he was sent for. He wrote of himself as a "prisoner for Jesus Christ." Rome may have fashioned his chains, but Paul was serving the Lord. This is the kind of power we need in our lives, Amen? Contentment is the state we're in when we've let "the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) How do you measure success? Are you seeking to achieve impossible ends just so that you will be noticed by the world? Are you seeking to change the world through little acts of kindness and generosity, thinking that if you're a nice person the whole world will smile back at you? These things will leave you disappointed. Unsure whether you've made any difference at all. Turn to Jesus. Let God tell your story. 6