Good morning. For this blog, I’m sharing with you a part of my weekly read from this week’s Spirit Lead Woman newsletter. In this article, Dr. Joy Meyer speaks on God’s direction for truly obtaining peace.
Peace – Kimberly
LIVING IN PEACE
Several years ago, I began seeking to walk in peace. I wanted to stop simply hearing about it and find out how to enjoy a peaceful life. One day I read the following Scripture:
“For let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days [good – whether apparent or not] keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile (treachery, deceit). Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]” (1 Pet. 3:10-11, “The Amplified Bible”).
This passage gives four mandates for the person who desires to enjoy life.
- “Keep [your] tongue free from evil.” God’s Word clearly states that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21). I can bring blessing or misery into my life with my words. I must choose my words carefully if I want to enjoy my life.
- “Turn away from wickedness.” We must take action to remove ourselves from wickedness and from wicked environments. The first chapter of Psalms instructs us to avoid sitting inactively in the pathway of sinners. The action we must take could mean altering our friendships and eating lunch alone instead of sitting in the middle of office gossip. It could even mean loneliness for a period of time. New beginnings require endings. The desire to have a new life—one filled with righteousness, peace and joy—will require the death of some things as we wait on God to give birth to new ones.
- “Do right.” The decision to do right must follow the decision to stop doing wrong. It may appear that the one automatically follows the other, but it doesn’t. Both are definite choices. Repentance is twofold; it requires turning AWAY from sin and turning TO righteousness. Some people turn from their sin, but they never make the decision to start doing right. As a result, they are lured back into sin. You will do right if you live according to God’s Word.
- “Search for peace.” Notice that we must search for it, pursue it and go after it. We cannot merely desire peace; we must take action to achieve it in our relationships with God, ourselves and our fellow man.
Today, in the midst of all the busyness, tiredness and craziness of holiday preparations, let’s make a commitment to actively pursue peace. We can’t secure it on our own; we have to rely on God to make it happen as we continually abide in and lean on Him.
And we may not achieve it overnight. But we can make it our goal to live in harmony so that God’s great glory will be manifest through us to a world that is desperately in need of Jesus. He has promised that if we live in Him and He lives in us, we will bear much fruit (see John 15:5).
Adapted from “Life Without Strife” by Joyce Meyer, copyright 2000. Published by Charisma House, formerly Creation House. In this book, well-known Bible teacher and author Joyce Meyer shows you how to live in peace with all those around you—and why it is critically important for you to do so. To order a copy, click here.
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