As a fruit of the Spirit, peace is a product of our faith. This devotional looks at how peace silences our hearts because of our faith and trust.
Nuggets
- We keep our hearts silenced in peace by keeping our minds trusting God.
- Confidence in God’s power brings us peace to silence our hearts.
- Because the Child of Christmas has given us peace — whether we are awake or asleep — we can feel safe.
Devotions in Silencing Our Hearts at Christmastime series
We all want peace – especially during the chaos of Christmastime. We wonder why we can’t have it during the time when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.
When I did the Silence of the Soul series, I put one sentence back in my drafts folder. It was from Guinness’ Peace for the Careworn. He wrote, “Not the power of his own faith, as some would think at first sight; not the power of his own effort, struggling to obtain confidence, as some would suppose; but the power of God.”
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What can we learn about silencing our hearts to obtain this peace?
Let's Put It into Context
Here is a running list of nuggets for the series.
Silence in Peace
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in” (Isa. 26: 3 ESV)
We keep our hearts silenced in peace by keeping our minds trusting God.
We know that peace comes from God. Peace is a fruit of righteousness, manifested in an inward tranquility resulting from a balanced life with spiritual order, equity, and truth that implies cooperation, humility, integrity, communication, and cohesiveness.
Read that last part again. Peace comes from spiritual order, equity, and truth.
Spiritual order comes from trusting God. Trust is assurance that the promises of God are true. We know without a shadow of a doubt that the Child of Christmas is the Son of God.
Farrar reminded us that this trust is revealed to us in Jesus. Everything we know about God is revealed to us by God, especially through Jesus. Peace is only revealed through Jesus.
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Too many times, we think that peace is the absence of chaos. It isn’t. It is the tranquility during the chaos.
It is putting our faith and trust in God instead of relying on ourselves. Faith is a gift from God and a work of the Spirit that enhances the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives and distinguishes us from others.
Glossary
We go for the inward peace instead of the outward success or prosperity.
I like it when Maclaren said that trust is the nature of faith. We are assured that the promise that Jesus is our Savior is true. Without that belief, we have no faith.
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We can trust God in any circumstance when we have faith in Him. If we lose the trust, we lose the peace. That reminds us that trust isn’t a one-and-done deal.
Maclaren helped me figure out why I keep thinking faith and trust are synonymous. It is because the Old Testament is based on trust. The New Testament is based on faith.
They are synonymous — in a way.
For those in the Old Testament, the trust was their faith. They weren’t told anything about being pure. They had to believe the promise.
That doesn’t mean we can still trust that the Messiah will come for the first time. He already did. If we don’t accept Jesus as our Savior, we will be judged on Judgment Day.
Righteousness must be present, or there can be no peace. Righteousness is the indwelling goodness that is the result of a solid relationship with God built by a sincere life of conscientious obedience to God’s laws and commandments and from which all virtues flow.
So, peace comes from God’s truth. The Child of Christmas came to bear witness to the Father and shed His blood for us.
Faith and trust — and therefore, peace — is all about the state of our minds. What is the state of our mind? Our attitude.
We have to hold fast to our faith. We have to cling to God in an attitude of confidence.
We have peace when we rely on our salvation. We trust God, giving us peace.
The thing is, when we get the inner peace, God gives us outward peace, too. It is one way that God rewards us.
Power in Confidence
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16: 33 ESV)
Confidence in God’s power brings us peace to silence our hearts.
Faith in Jesus brings us many things. It allows us to communicate with Him in times of trials. We can commune with the One Who knows the past, present, and future.
That alone should bring us great joy. But there is more.
The world gives us tribulation — pain, sickness, death. It is only in Christ that we find peace.
The Child of Christmas has overcome any and all tribulation that we could face. That brings us peace and victory.
It isn’t just contentment/peace. It is spiritual peace.
I like the New Living Translation of this verse. “I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (Jn. 14: 27 NLT).
- I am leaving — present tense, so it is a gift that does not end.
- Peace of mind and heart — spiritual peace that affects our attitude.
Clapperton reminded us that it is a fruit of the Spirit. That makes it not only a gift of salvation, but also a reward for sanctification.
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To read a related devotion, click the button below.
It is a fruit of the Spirit that translates as a rest of the soul when we are working out our salvation to find tranquility with God, ourselves, and others.
Why is peace so important? Vaughan said it is because it is the root of holiness. He wrote, “To believe that you are pardoned, to carry a conscience at ease, to take the unruffled reflection of Christ, even as Christ did of the Father, that is the atmosphere of a daily religious life, and that is the secret of every good thing.
Holiness is the transcendent excellence of His nature that includes elements of purity, dedication, and commitment that lead to our being set apart through consecration to mold to God’s Will.
- Purity means possessing God’s moral character, having eliminated the stain of sin.
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We take heart and find contentment in knowing that Christ has vanquished our spiritual foes. Our foes are the world, self, and sin.
Take heart is sometimes translated as be of good cheer. That is telling us to be joyful even in the trials.
The Christ of Christmas brings us peace to silence our hearts because He has overcome this world and all it would throw at us.
TitlePeace in Death
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Ps. 4: 8 ESV)
Because the Child of Christmas has given us peace — whether we are awake or asleep — we can feel safe.
What better way of silencing our hearts than feeling safe and loved? Disciples are both.
Oh, yes. We still get sick. Still feel pain. Still die.
But we are safe in the palm of God’s hand. “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isa. 49: 16 NIV).
We have found God’s favor when we have submitted our lives to Him. We can rest in His promises.
It is our goal to have God’s favor until we die — “… lie down and sleep …” (Ps. 4: 8 ESV). That means we have been navigating the Sanctification Road to become more like Him.
Look at it this way. The verse says we are to lie down.
Compare it with what John wrote. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (I Jn. 3: 16 ESV).
Jesus faithfully laid down His life for God’s plan. We are called to do the same thing.
No, laying down our lives won’t fulfill the Plan of Salvation. It will fulfill God’s plan for our lives.
Making the Connections #1
Don’t miss the flip side. We’ve shown that we can only have peace when we are in Jesus.
That means worldview people don’t have real peace. No, that isn’t me saying that – it is God.
Farrar put it this way. He wrote, “The existence or the absence of peace in our hearts is no slight indication of our true condition, for, as peace must exist with the righteous even in the midst of adversity, it cannot exist in the hearts of the wicked, however smiling, however prosperous their lot. “There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.’”
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Worldview people have a false peace. It is a peace concocted by Satan. Satan blinds us to being satisfied without God.
We can only have peace when we are released from the death of sin.
Making the Connections #2
Jesus never promised His disciples a rose garden. He promised persecution.
Isn’t it the worldview way to misrepresent something? Once we finally get “caught,” the truth starts coming out.
We wonder why we were ever enticed to think whatever was wonderful.
That is the difference between Jesus and Satan. Satan offers the wide, beautiful way. Jesus calls us to the narrow gate.
Glossary
How Do We Apply This?
- Keep our attitude focused on God.
- Put our confidence in God’s wisdom and power.
- Trust in God’s promises.
- Hold fast in faith and trust.
- Delight when we encounter tribulations that will grow our faith.
- Study Christ’s words.
- Remember Jesus has overcome our enemies so that is with whom we are dealing.
- Decide to be peaceful.
- Confess Christ to gain peace.
- Be still to hear His small voice.
- Be courageous — be conquerors.
- Work our job description so we are transformed from this world.
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Father God. We praise You for the promises You have given us. Your peace is reviving because we have access to it by our faith in Jesus. Thank You, Lord, for salvation. Amen.
What do you think?
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