There are things that can take our peace in God away from us. The good news is that we don’t have to let that happen. If we are paying attention, we can choose to respond differently to the things that can steal our peace.
Sometimes responding in a better way is relatively easy. At other times, it will require lots of discipline and perseverance. This paper addresses a few of these peace stealers.
While studying the book of Philippians the question arose, “Is your mind guarded by God’s peace, or is it infiltrated by fear, doubt, and false ideas?1 I used these three categories to think through things that might steal my peace. I found that sometimes the Bible addresses a topic directly, and sometimes it is addressed in principle. In both cases, we should respond with faith as we are dealing with these issues.
Fear
One of the things I fear, is that I’ll be rejected. If I swim against the tide of the culture and stand for Christ, what will happen? We all want to be accepted and loved, but not everyone receives God’s truth as presented in the Bible. Some will accept the truth, and others will reject it -perhaps directing that rejection toward us.
Addressing this fear is not too hard. Accepting the consequences of rejection in my life is where the difficulty comes in. It is vital that I remember Jesus’ instruction on this matter.
We know that Christ was rejected, and He said that we can expect the same rejection. Of course, we don’t want to be rejected merely because we are abrasive or harsh. Neither should we be rejected because we aren’t sympathetic with other people. The rejection Christ experienced was because of the hardness of man’s heart and them shunning their Creator!
Jesus explains to us this hatred and rejection in John 15:18-21,
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”
Then a few sentences later, Jesus says,
“These things I have spoken to you, that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”2
When we remember Jesus’ warning, we can be prepared for resistance to, and even rejection of, the truth. It can also bring us comfort when we identify with Christ’s sufferings. This is possibly what Paul was calling the ‘fellowship of His sufferings’, in Philippians 3:10.3
If we still experience anxiousness, we can follow the exhortation in Philippians 4:6 and pray. Please see my article titled, Cure for Anxiety for more on dealing with anxiety.
Doubt
Sometimes doubt rises up in me and I feel like I’m not being effective for God. Whether talking with family or believers at church, I wonder if I am influencing them for good and encouraging them. Even in this paper, I wonder: Is the transforming work of God occurring or is it just words on a page?
There is a verse in 2nd Peter that gives us hope when we think this way.
In the beginning parts of chapter 1, Peter explains that God has given us everything we need for godliness. God also has given us His ‘precious and magnificent promises,’ so that we can grow in holiness. Peter goes on to list various qualities that work together and build upon each other in our lives. Moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, and perseverance are named among other attributes.4
Then Peter writes in 1:8,
“For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This instruction, once applied in our lives, can give us confidence that we have a degree of understanding of the true knowledge of God. Then, as we live out this truth and communicate it with others by faith, we are fruitful and useful to God.
We know that God’s word will accomplish His work as He says in Isaiah 55:10-11,
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
False ideas
We can easily succumb to the false idea that we are the ones in charge. The popular humanistic thinking today is that we are only accountable to ourselves. This influence is all around us and we must not let this false idea seep into our thinking.
In addition, we are self centered beings and have to unlearn that behavior and thinking.
Many biblical passages remind us that everyone is indebted to their Creator. We can choose to live independently, but that is not how or why God made us. We will receive the consequence of our choice, and it is clear that the greater benefit is to humble ourselves under God.
Psalm 100:
- Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
- Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing. - Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. - Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name. - For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.
God is the Creator, we are not. We are His people and rely on His goodness and faithfulness. Our response is to be thankful and full of gladness.
Revelation 5:9-10 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.”
This new song, speaking about Jesus, describes His purchase of us. He purchased us with His blood, and has made us a kingdom and priests to the Father.
Concerning the preeminence of Christ, Paul writes in Colossians 1:16,
“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
All things were created through Him and for Him. That means He created us and it is for Him that we should live.
The next two passages I will put together because of the shared thought:
Proverbs 16:9 The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.
James 4:13-15
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.””
God is sovereign and our plans succeed as they line up with His will. Since our lives are only for a little while in the grand scheme of things, we should humble ourselves and go along with His work and will.
Therefore it is a false idea to think that we are in charge. Rather it is God who:
- Created us;
- Purchased us with the blood of Jesus;
- Created everything through and for Jesus; and,
- Accomplishes His will in us and in the world.
Conclusion
If our mind is infiltrated by fear, doubt, and false ideas, we can find answers in the Bible so we can have God’s peace.
I write about another peace stealer in the paper titled, Accepting Adversity.
1 The question originated from MacArthur Bible Study Series on Philippians, 97
2 John 16:1-4
3 Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
4 2 Peter 1:5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.