Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Standing In The Eye of The Storm

In this day and age, peace seems to be harder to find than ever before.  Chaos, on the other hand, is seen everywhere one turns his head.  A couple of months ago, though, I discovered the peace that is found in Christ. 
The concept of peace extends to a lot more areas than just that of war.  It extends to each moment of one’s life.  It is so easy to worry about the little things, and even easier to worry about the big things.  I used to believe that worrying was what you were supposed to do.  After all, as a Christ-follower, surely I’m not supposed to be happy about the bad things going on in the world.  And so, I began to let myself worry and be unhappy about the destruction on the earth, which created a new chaos within me.  I shoved peace away, and convinced myself that I should not enjoy it again until I stepped through the pearly gates of Heaven. 
On a day when I was feeling particularly distraught (a racing heart, and an overwhelming desire to just curl up in a corner and hide from the world), I came upon these God-breathed words in 1 Corinthians.  
“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” - 1 Corinthians 14:33
The Lord is not the King of Chaos- He is the Prince of Peace!  When I accepted salvation, and invited the Holy Spirit into my heart, peace became a beautiful part of my life- a part that I was not to push away.It is so important to remember that we worship the Prince of Peace.  Embracing this peace is how we are protected from the death and destruction that is beating on our doors, and it gives us a reason to live each moment with a satisfied smile upon our faces.  As Christians, we ought to live differently than the non-believers that are of this world.  We ought to live in this world, but not be of it.  We ought to act in a way that makes people ask what is different about our lives, and how they can be happy as we are.When that question arises, we may answer with this, from Romans 15:13-
“May the God of hope fill you with all the joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

My brothers and sisters in Christ, do not worry.  Do not be anxious, holding peace at arm’s length.  For you worship the God of Love, Joy, and Peace, and He has saved us from the chaos.