Proverbs 3:17 “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”

Peace is such an interesting thing. Oftentimes, peace is hard to explain. One of the easiest ways to recognize peace is by recognizing what it feels like to be without it. Can you remem­ber a season or situation when you didn’t have peace? Or, maybe you’re now in a situation where you lack peace. 

Peace is a fruit of His Spirit. It has been freely given to you by and through Jesus. Peace is yours for the taking. 

Maybe you’re thinking right now, but if Jesus has truly given me peace, why am I not experiencing peace? Good question. Peace has been given to us by His Spirit. It is ours for the taking. Nevertheless, we also get to decide whether or not to accept it. God gave us free will and free choice with everything else. He gives us a choice when it comes to pursuing His peace. 

When you become a child of God, the things of the flesh no longer satisfy you. Only the things of His Spirit satisfy you. John 6:63 says, “It is the Spirit who gives life.” The flesh profits nothing. Often, we can trace back to the moment our peace went missing. It is often at that moment when we try to satisfy the flesh. We should have let the Spirit satisfy us instead. Jesus didn’t leave us. We lack His peace because we chose to fulfill the flesh. This is not satisfying anymore, and it is not who we are. Satisfying the flesh no longer truly satisfies, because we are now made of His Spirit.  This is not Jesus being cruel. He is not taking away the gift He gave us. We lack peace in our decisions because we try to mix death with life. His peace is only life. 

Because of the favor of God, we can have peace in the midst of chaos.

– Crystal McDowell