Strive for Peace

Strive for peace.  Christ wants us to strive for peace.  Peace is a tortuous path for humanity because we are so plugged into temporal constraints.  We are ruled by passions of anger, grief and fear.  I struggle to set aside worry - even though I know Christ has promised to lay my worry on His shoulders I clutch worry like a weapon, when I should be upholding the shield of Christ - which is promised to us in the Spirit. 

¹⁴ Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

When we are driven by worry and fear we don't think clearly - we lash out, we work tirelessly with the fruits of our labors seemingly never producing enough on the vine.  We take the wrong risks and hold back from taking steps in faith that can lead us out of troubled waters. 

Today as I was deep in prayer the verse Hebrews 12:14 popped in my head.  I did not know the verse by heart - looking it up I found the practical spiritual advice of God.  I have been praying for peace, begging for Him to take away our worry - but until we strive for peace and accept the promises of Christ, God cannot move in our lives.

Peace starts with our own hearts and when we accept forgiveness from God we can have peace to love the entire world and pray for blessings and hope for all in the world, even those that condemn us.  Making every effort to live in peace does not mean standing idly by and watching injustice or avoiding to shout out against injustice - rather it is a call to love and to rest in indifference's working with ACTIVE love and peace rather than a fire of anger. 


Revenge yields revenge.  I saw a bumper sticker the other day - Justice is standing up with others sit down, but an eye for an eye makes the entire world blind.

Peace gives us discernment.  Rage is a destroying fire that only sows more destruction.  While sometimes we are called to arms to defend peace, peace is never meant to be a lasting war - especially a war with ourselves - God would rather we focus on helping others and following his word rather than spending our lives entrenched in the chaos of fear.  Fear of the Lord allows us to climb mountains and overcome trials and persevere - Fear of the world makes us weak and paralyzes us. 












On my birthday I was struggling with emotional pain from years of abuse bubbling up to the surface.  A lot of this as a result of my cousin's wedding - I was not invited (not my fault) but out of spite and their own hate for me.  I felt forsaken.  I asked God why I was ever born - I cried and wept and felt utterly broken because although I knew I had been righteous and kind and striven for peace with them - I was forsaken, bruised and battered and make to feel worse than dirt. 

My mom reminded me that she loved me and also said 'God loves you.'  I said 'Yeah, well God loves everyone.'  'So what' - this is not my typical nature - but that brokenness and heartache of losing people I trusted and loved - feeling that betrayal left me raw.  For a second I took God's love for granted I did not see it as miraculous - I chose the forsaken thorns of the world over the rose of God's crown of love and forgiveness.  I felt abandoned - I asked for God to forgive me the next day - I know His love is enough - but when everyone has turned against you and you see injustice it is easy to push back peace and to rely on worry - to burn with the pain of fear and revenge.  The Holy Spirit can provide peace even when betrayal cuts the deepest but we must trust that peace and let it work through us so we can be peaceful with humanity.

I continue to fear the future - I am frustrated by my job, my lack of good housing and other problems - but God's love is bigger than our problems and in eternity the smallest and biggest worries are nothing in God's glory.  God wants to help heal us - are we willing to be healed.  We have to strive for HIS peace - accept HIS gifts