Looking for Peace
Are you at peace with God?
Verse of the Day
“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”
Romans 5:1 NLT
Today’s Devotional
Peace. That’s this month’s focus. As we walked through a month of looking at trust, one of the things that stood out to me was Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” This leads me to believe that my peace is in direct proportion to my trust. But what does peace mean? Here’s what the dictionary says:
-a state of tranquility or quiet
-freedom from civil disturbance
-a state of security within a community
-freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
-harmony in personal relationships
So there are many kinds of peace. Today’s verse starts with the last definition above – harmony in our relationship with God. Basically, we – as sinners- we are at odds with God. He is holy and just, and cannot be in the presence of sin. Based on that alone, I cannot be in God’s presence. But because of Jesus, when God looks at me to pass judgement, he sees Jesus. Therefore, I am declared righteous. Think about that. When we think God is judging and condemning our sin, HE SEES JESUS! In that regard, self-condemnation is useless and a waste of time. Why should I be rehashing my prior sins when God doesn’t even see them? That doesn’t negate the consequences of my actions, but as far as my relationship with God, if I have Jesus, I am clean. Psalm 103:12 says “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
In the past, I spent a lot of time thinking that there was no possible way that God could really love me. I’m not even sure that I felt secure in my salvation because of my sin. But now I know that I was believing lies that were keeping me stuck and afraid to even approach God. Those are powerful lies. Today my outlook is different. I know that I am a sinner. But I am a sinner that loves Jesus and has given Him Lordship in my life. Because of that, I am clean. I am the prodigal daughter. When I turned toward Home, God saw me from a long way off and came running. When God got to within arm’s length, he wrapped me up in a tight embrace and hasn’t let me go. I know that he never will. Because when he looks at me, he sees Jesus. Because of my faith, I have been made right with God by the blood of Jesus.
This verse is telling that there is no fear in approaching God, because he and I are at peace. There is no fear about my salvation because of what Jesus has done for me. There is no fear about the future because God is leading the way. There is no guilt or remorse about the past because God is using it for his glory. My emotions may not always line up with those last few sentences, but they are still truth based on what the Bible says.
Having peace with God is a great place to be. And it’s a great place to start our month of peace. My guess is that when we begin with recognizing our peace with God, made possible through Jesus, that peace will spill over our lives into all the other kinds of peace we can experience with ourselves and others. You and God are at peace. Let’s rest in that today.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
When you think about your relationship with God, do you feel like you and God are at peace? Why or why not? What do you really think God sees when he looks at you? What does being made right in God’s sight mean to you?