A path to peace …

Jesus promised peace to those who followed Him. So why are so many Christians stressed out and anxious?

While sitting in a Sunday school class or home Bible study, these Christians can intellectually see how Jesus should be THE root source for a perfect, powerful peace in their lives. But as soon as they lift their eyes from Jesus and look at some of the challenging circumstances in their lives, they “lose their peace.”

There’s a simple path to peace we all can experience. It’s something I’ve been teaching counseling clients for decades. Below is a picture of the document mapping this “path to peace,” let’s briefly walk through it together:

How can a Christian live a truly Godly life, make sound choices, and experience the peace Jesus promises regardless of whatever the circumstances are in their life?

The first part of the answer is illustrated on the left side of the photo above.

The first element of a path to peace is making sure Jesus is Lord of our lives … always!

For Christ to be Lord means His Lordship is a permanent reality in our lives. It does not mean running to Jesus only when things get hard, and circumstances turn difficult or ugly. A life permeated with peace can be experienced only because Jesus is Lord of all, all the time.

The second element of a path to peace is yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in every Christian. Too often we grieve the Spirit rather than welcoming Him and fully cooperating with Him. The Holy Spirit lives in Christians to lead them to all truth, to enable and empower them to live obediently and faithfully for Jesus, and He is constantly transforming us to be more and more like our Lord. Yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit enables you to overcome anything in your life’s circumstances that would attempt to “steal your peace.”

The third element of a path to peace is listening to God and hearing His instruction as provided to us through the Bible. God gives us direction through His Word, but we have to apply the Bible to our lives if we want to know the peace Jesus offers. Unfortunately, most people who profess to follow Christ are biblically illiterate – that means they are ignorant of the direction God provides through His Word. No wonder they lack the peace Jesus promises!

The fourth element of a path to peace is talking with God. No matter the circumstance, we can talk to God at any time, anywhere, about anything. We can tell God what we’re afraid of, what we need, and KNOW that He hears us and cares about us. “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives,” Psalm 37:23.

You can see from the items listed on the left side of the illustration above that God provides for our peace through the Lordship of Christ, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, direction through the Bible, and conversation throughout life through prayer. But there’s still a way we can mangle and mess up experiencing the peace of Christ. That is shown in the photo above on the right side, which is our approaching life’s circumstances with irrational thinking.

Without thinking rationally, we can rob ourselves from knowing the peace of Christ.

A key contribution competent, skilled Christian counselors can make to the lives of people is helping them see patterns of irrational thinking in their lives, and help them overcome and replace those patterns of irrational thinking with patterns and habits of rational thinking.

When Jesus Christ is truly Lord of your life, that life is enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the person applies the Word of God to their lives, and they live a life of ongoing conversation with God (prayer) — and that person thinks rationally — THAT person will fully experience the peace Jesus promises.

You can, too!

Here’s a path to peace you can follow!

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful,” Colossians 3:15.

Scotty

P.S. If you would like a copy of this one-page illustration of “A Path to Peace,” just send me an email at dr.scott@ScottFreeClinic.org requesting the document and I’ll send it to you.