To have peace is first of all based upon a decision, and secondly based upon an act of the will.
What’s the decision that needs to be made? A decision for salvation. To accept the Lord Jesus Christ – who is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) – into your heart. Secondly, to have peace is based upon an act of your will. To, on purpose, do life with Jesus. Just like you do life with family, or acknowledge a friend in the car, or acknowledge the fact that it’s raining (for example) so you grab an umbrella or turn on your windshield wipers; similarly, it’s necessary to acknowledge Jesus in your life, and give Him place, time and opportunity to do life with you. To help you. Talking to Him, and then hearing what He wants to say to you.
So again, having peace, true and genuine peace, is the result of your decision for salvation, followed by the act of your will to do life with Jesus. As you spend time with Jesus – the Prince of Peace – and do life with Him, peace is developed in you. If you think about it, it only makes sense. If the Prince of Peace is in your heart (salvation), and you’re acknowledging Him, being aware of Him, and engaging in life with Him, then His peace will outpour in your life. Consider this, when you’re around a strong personality for a length of time, you begin to act like them, say certain phrases that they say, and pick up some of the same habits and practices. Well, from experience, the presence of Jesus is breathtakingly and beautifully calm. And in His presence, that still, that quiet, that rest, that undisturbed and non-agitated presence can become your presence even in the midst of storms. Here’s another way of putting it, peace is the bi-product which His presence accomplishes in you. So, as you grow in relationship with Him and dwell (spend time) in His presence, you will begin to produce resulting like character – part of which is a presence of peace. (What’s marvelous is that peace is just one facet of who Jesus is, and one part of what can be accomplished in you as a result of spending time with Him / in His presence!) I love Isaiah 26:3 which says, You [Lord] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all those whose thoughts are fixed on You!
Now listen, the extent to which you remain in His presence (or, in other words do life with Him), is the extent to which you’ll experience Him and His peace.
Allow Him to keep you in perfect peace today.
There’s so much more I could get into; so, if you’re interested in learning more along these lines, contact me or go to my speaker invite page. In the meantime, sign up for my monthly newsletter. And, if you’ve never made the decision for Jesus, that’s the first step!
All the best to you! Stay tuned for my next blog post, and remember . . . pass it on; share this Fresh Insight Worldwide!