The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him. ~Col 3:14-17 (CEB)
Once we know what the truth is, we have to let it take hold. I know that I am a child of God (truth) now I need to act like I am a child of God. If I am a child of God then I need to let him rule. Under his rule, he offers us peace
There was a time that I thought peace to be those quiet snatches of time, sitting on my porch swing when the temperature is just cool enough to want to wrap my hands around my mug of coffee while the sweet smell of jasmine drifted around me. If you didn’t notice there are a lot of conditions to my picture of peace. All it takes to destroy the moment is for my son to open the back door and ask me to help him with a math problem.
God’s peace is not determined by the moment alone, the porch swing, the right temperature or on the smell of jasmine close by. The peace that God offers still exists despite the conditions we might find ourselves in. The truth is that peace is always here for us. We have to let it take a hold
Colossians says to let peace rule in my heart. When I play the game of “what-if” I miss out on the freedom of letting peace rule. When I play the game of “if-only” I allow a battle to ensue between two parties. Emily P. Freeman in her book Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life says it this way,
“There is indeed a controversy between two parties: my flesh and my spirit, the lies and the truth, the fake and the real, the mask and the Savior. Peace stands between them, looks me straight in the eye, and asks permission to do what peace does best: give rest. God offers his peace to act as my umpire, to release me from having to be the authority and keep it together. But I have to let peace be peaceful inside of me. It is not an easy thing to do, to quiet the voices of the accusing party and to allow peace to have the authority. If I will let it, the peace of Christ will stand between me and the lies of my enemy, the lies that accuse and attack and shame.”
I want that peace that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7), to find myself in peace despite my circumstances. How do I allow peace to work in my life? Through Christian fellowship and support; through scripture and songs; through gratitude for what God has already done in my life. All these things remind me of who I am and whose I am. I am a child of God.
In God, whose word I praise. I trust in God; I won’t be afraid. What can mere flesh do to me? ~Psalm 56:4
Make your ways known to me, LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth—teach it to me— because you are the God who saves me. I put my hope in you all day long. Amen. (Psalms 25:4-5 CEB)
Pieces of the Puzzle 