Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. (2 Thess. 3:16)
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. Peace Come Through the Right Focus
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 14:17)
One of the quickest paths to losing out on the peace God offers us to make it through the hard times is to let ourselves get derailed by the non-essentials or inconsequential issues in life.
The church in Rome found themselves worrying about what others were doing and started passing judgment on issues that in the long run, didn’t matter all that much to God. They needed to be reminded that they were each personally accountable to God (Rom. 14:12). When we focus on the wrongs, or perceived wrongdoings, of others, we quickly lose peace between one another which in turn drains the inner peace right out of us.
» We need to see the big picture of what God is doing and focus on that.
» We need to remember the qualities that make up the kingdom of God which grow out of the very character of God.
When we put our attention on what is wrong in this world, we will lose His peace. God’s peace is tied into the whole of who He is out of which come His purposes. When we rest in Him and His purposes in the midst of all the wrongs, we will know peace.
What we think about will either lead to peace or anxiety. — “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:8-9).
How Focusing on God’s Word Affects Us
Is it any wonder the psalmist concluded, “Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble” (Ps. 119:165).
With so many distracting forces in this world and in our own hearts, how do we keep the right focus? Look at end of Romans 14:17 — “in the Holy Spirit.” We need to be living in and guided by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16-26). Peace, after all, is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22).
We cannot generate peace on our own. The world cannot give us the peace we need to make it through difficult times. The Spirit, however, will grow this fruit within as as we keep in step with Him and maintain the right focus.