People in America are some of the wealthiest in the world; and yet we are anxious and hopeless. Our money doesn’t help our spiritual well-being.
Drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence are all too common. Marriage relationships are being destroyed by sexual immorality. All of this is a symptom of a big problem — no peace with God.
The fact is our spiritual well-being is affected by sin. Sinful lifestyles and thought patterns prevent peace. The Bible says, “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22).
Your problem may be one you do not recognize. Whether you know it or not, as a sinner, you do not have peace with God. You are at war with Him because of your sinful nature and actions. Something must be done about that before anything else can be fixed in your life.
The solution comes from Romans 5:1. It says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Being justified is to be declared righteous by God. He will do that for any person that puts his trust in Jesus Christ alone. The result is peace with God.
This peace is to have a spiritual position of acceptance before God. Sin is forgiven. There is no more distance and hostility with God.
As clear as that is, many people think they have peace with God when they actually do not. This false sense of peace can come from trusting in religion and religious ceremonies.
Others may depend on being baptized, or walking an aisle, or marking a date in a Bible. These actions are not the source of peace. Peace comes “through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Somebody might say, “But I have put my trust in Jesus Christ. I still don’t feel peace with God. What’s wrong?”
Realize that peace with God does not depend on how you feel. It is an objective reality. God places the true believer in an unchanging position of peace with God. Feelings come and go, but a Christian’s peace with God does not change.
And yet, even many Christians struggle with their inward peace. We worry about the future. We get stuck in patterns of sin. And we are robbed of the sense of peace and joy.
God is greater than our problems. He loves and cares for His children. The more we know Him, the more we will sense peace.
Even Christians need to confess and forsake their sin. We need to commit our burdens and cares to God in prayer. As we do, the experience of peace will follow.
Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Don’t seek peace where it cannot be found. Find it only in Jesus Christ.
