Romans 3:15-17 "Their feet are swift to shed blood, destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known.”
It’s impossible to be at peace with people if one is not at peace with God. If we have the life of Jesus living within us, we not only have peace with God, we have peace within ourselves. Listen to Jesus’ last words to His disciples as a group. John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” The next time Jesus saw the disciples together as a group was after His resurrection. Here is John’s account. John 20:19 “So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
Those to whom God reveals His wrath have sensitive triggers. Because they are not at peace with God, they are afraid, and justifiably so. They don’t know the path of peace, so their paths are strewn with victims—destroyed relationships. They are miserable because rather than having clear consciences with God, they live in fear and guilt. They perceive of themselves as victims and have taken on the overwhelming role of protecting themselves at all costs.
Those who know God and who have received the life of Jesus, have Jesus’ peace dwelling within. Be encouraged today to entrust yourself to Him who judges righteously as Peter wrote in 1 Pet. 2:23. Remember, God is for us, so no one can harm us in any significant way that separates us from His love and purpose (Rom. 8:31, 35). As we let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, we are free live to love with Jesus.
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
