Sanctification
What does it mean to be sanctified by the God of peace?
Verse of the Day
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely. And may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s Devotional
I am discovering that peace is a matter of trust. Do I trust in God, or in my circumstances, or in my relationships, or in my bank account, or in a world that seems to thrive on fear and chaos? It is easy to get distracted by the loudness of our world and our circumstances. It is much harder and requires intention for me to focus on the trust that God deserves in my life. He has earned my trust, but I am a sheep that easily forgets.
Today’s verse reminds me that all peace comes from God. He is the God of peace. Through God’s power, He is sanctifying me. To sanctify means to be set apart for a sacred purpose, to free from sin. So as I lean in to God, he is washing me clean through the blood of Jesus and setting me apart for HIS purpose. Not mine. And this cleansing is not just a partial cleaning, like just washing your hands. It is an immersive, full body-mind-soul cleansing. This kind of change takes time alone with God. My ability to be cleansed is in direct correlation to my willingness to let go of what hinders me. As a human, I can’t seem to let go of everything familiar all at once. And this world is all too familiar. I have a friend that says, “God loves us too much to ask us to change everything at once. He works on us as we are ready and willing, cleaning house a little at a time.” That seems like a pretty realistic view of the sanctification process.
I struggle with the “blameless” part of this verse, but instead of focusing on that, I’m going to focus on the bigger picture. I am blameless and made right with God all because of Jesus. I am not, nor will I ever be perfect. But every day that I seek God’s will and love the people in my path is a day that I am being sanctified. The more I am asked to love others, the more of myself I have to set down at the feet of Jesus.
As the world continues to tell me that there is much to fear, I am choosing to trust that God is in control. That choice is the only one that leads to peace. It makes sense to me to choose, every single day, to allow God to rule my life. He knows what is coming. I do not. He knows what is best. I do not. He sees the whole picture. I do not. I am the god of nothing. He is the God of everything, for all time. He deserves my trust and devotion. He deserves my time and attention.
In my experience, the more I choose to trust in God, the more peace I have in my daily life. In contrast, the more I try to control situations and outcomes, the less peace I have. Having peace does not mean that everything in my life is as I think it should be. Having peace is knowing that God is in control. I heard this said in a sermon recently: “Do you really trust in the God of the universe? Or do you trust that God will give you the outcome you desire?” In order to be a person devoted to faith in God, I need to stop focusing on what I want in any given situation. My desired outcomes may not align with God’s will. I need to get to the point in my faith where I fully accept that fact. I believe that accepting God’s will in my life is a direct path to being a person who embodies the peace of God. Perhaps learning to accept God’s will over my own desired outcomes is what the sanctification process is all about. Perhaps I learn these lessons more clearly in solitude.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Do you catch yourself trusting in things other than God? If so, what things?
How do you feel about being sanctified?
How peaceful do you feel today?
What things in your life do you give to God and then take back (and try to control)?
What have you learned about peace?