Finding the triad of peace in the pandemic

A survey carried out before a full lockdown was imposed, found that one in five adults in the UK  had felt panicked and three in 10 had felt afraid because of coronavirus. More than six in 10 adults said they had felt anxious or worried.

I hope you will be encouraged and find more peace after you read this article:

There is a triad of peace to be discovered:

| Peace with God | Peace with Others | Peace within |

(an excerpt from my book entitled  Everyday Extraordinary Lives )

PEACE - It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart (Anon).

Truth Verses

1.   Peace with God 

Colossians 1:20 Through the Son, God also reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, thereby making peace through the blood of his cross (read Romans 5:1 John 16:33 Ephesians 2:14-17).

2. Peace with others

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

(read Romans 12:18 Romans 14:19)

3. Peace within

Philippians 4:6,7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 5:22 the fruit of the Spirit is…peace

(Read John 14:27; Romans 8:6; Romans 14:17; 15:13)

Truth Story

Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite. While developing the explosive, he experienced tragedy when his brother Emil was killed, when a shed housing his less stable invention nitroglycerin exploded. After several similar accidents, the death of his other brother Ludvig caused several newspapers to publish obituaries, mistakenly thinking it was Alfred who had died. A French obituary stated, "The merchant of death is dead". Alfred, however, never intended hurting anyone, as his products were used primarily for positive purposes such as mining. Alfred was in fact a pacifist, opposed to war or conflict of any kind. Considering this bad press, the wealthy Alfred was inspired to create a legacy; intentionality encouraged the notion of global peacemaking.

The last will and testament of Alfred Nobel left much of his wealth for the establishment of an annual peace prize, specifically targeted at those whom it was deemed had "conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.”

Much of the interest that accrued on his fortune was annually given to the person who has done "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Until the time of writing there have been 100 such Nobel Peace Prizes awarded since 1901.

Truth Unpacked

It's is hard to miss the similarities of the ideals encouraged by Nobel and that advocated by Jesus when he stated blessed are the peacemakers.

Will and testaments are supremely important as they indicate the essence of a person’s desires and deepest passions. Jesus' last will and testimony is often thought of in terms of what is stated in the Synoptic Gospels. Here the Great Commission focus is on "making disciples."

However, Johns Gospel takes a departure, emphasizing another dimension to this commission. In John 20:14-17 Jesus' repeated emphasis is on receiving His peace, receiving the Spirit and receiving forgiveness and then becoming carriers of His forgiveness.

Having already categorized the New Testament scriptures related to peace, we discover that there are actually three main fields that make peace complete.

The first is finding peace with God.  The truth verses above demonstrate how there can only be this peace through the blood of the cross. Being reconciled with God is only received by faith in the work of Jesus as both Saviour and Lord of our lives.

Secondly, efforts like Nobel’s, honour peacemakers. It awards those who make a tremendous effort in reconciling people to each other, often restoring friendly relations between people in conflict or at war.

Lastly, this peace is also to be a daily, Holy Spirit enabled, experience as a peace within. This is a holy repose and a God-given tranquility in our hearts and minds. 

So many live with inner turmoil, troubling thoughts and personal inner conflict. This peace from the Spirit is given by receiving God’s mind and spirit on an issue. It becomes a calming and protecting antidote to feeling disquiet and angst. 

Paul likens it to a sentry or garrison surrounding our hearts, protecting us from life’s hurts, habits and hang-ups. This is none other than the calm and serenity of the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Jesus.

Quote

PEACE - It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart (Anon).

Praying the Word

Lord we realise that all of the qualities that the Spirit of Jesus produces flow from our relationship with you (1 John 1:3).  Lord, thank you for peace in being reconciled with you through your crucified son and our Saviour Jesus.

Lord, help us in turn to be peacemakers in this world of conflict (Matthew 5:9). 

Help us be ministers of reconciliation at every stratum of society (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). 

Let us pursue peace today (Psalm 34:14) to become a person of peace (Psalm 37:37).

Calm any restlessness and anxiety in our lives (Philippians 4:6-7). 

May we know your touch and partake in your peace (Romans 15:13). 

Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6), let your peace guard our hearts from all anxiety. Impart your calm, your serenity and your repose we pray, as we trust in you. 

Amen (Isaiah 26:3; Psalm 23; John 16:33).

Selah.