Integrity- People of God

How do we have peace in the midst of a storm? When the winds, the swells and the billows of life’s hurricanes come pounding against our mind, soul and spirit, where do we find peace? Where do we obtain the strength to endure this storm? When our foundation is sure and planted on the Rock of God’s word, which is Jesus, then we can weather life’s storms in a spirit of peace.

This is not to say that we will not go through the hardships of life’s mishaps. It is the Holy Spirit, that gives us this power, through our faith in Jesus as the Christ. Jesus becomes our Savior and we are able to persevere through our hope in His completed work and promises.

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

Psalm 95:1 Come, let’s sing for joy to the LORD, Let’s shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.

The foundation that we build must be Christ, He is our Rock, our Shield and fortress. When we know the person of Jesus and His character we are able to rely and trust in Him as a firm foundation. It is when we are firm in the love God has for us, we will know that He will not abandon us, nor will He give way to the blows of life, the raging tempests, or the upheavals and whirlwinds that we may encounter. Jesus’ foundation is sure and no other person, organization, principality or power can cancel, invalidate or compare with the work Jesus has established and purchased for us.      

1Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 

Psalm 18: 2-3 The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.

Romans 8:35 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When our hope is established in Christ and tied to the Rock of His Salvation, then we can obtain the peace of God in the midst of hard situations and circumstances. Jesus has given us His Peace is the Holy Spirit living in us. But to operate in this peace is a practiced skill. A skill is learned and practiced and with this practice we become better.

It is not always easy to calm our minds and souls in the face of life’s encounters, challenges and trials. However, the more we practice trusting God, relying on His word and believing in His love for us the better we become at quieting our spirit, while believing and resting in God, knowing that He will deliver us from that or any situation.

Psalm 34:15, 17, 19 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all. 

When the attacks of the enemy and confrontations from this fallen world comes at us, our natural impulse is to be anxious, restless or frightened but we must rise to our supernatural abilities which lie within us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our first tendency and slant may be the natural response, but we should not stay there. With immediate purpose of thought we should turn our minds and hearts to the word of God, His promises and the faithfulness of His love for us.

The sooner we are able to turn our hearts and minds to Christ the quicker we will be able to rest in His peace. God tells us many are the afflictions of the righteous but He will deliver us from them all. When life’s storms come we should be quick to remember that God is faithful to His word and with that truth we can practice resting in the Peace of God, knowing He will deliver us.

Psalm 23:4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:1-2 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior through faith in the death burial and resurrection of Christ have received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit living in us and through us to teach us the word of God so that we may reveal and reflect His likeness, which is God’s glory on earth.

It is the Holy Spirit that teaches us how to walk in the peace of God in the midst of hardship and life’s storms. He is our Helper whom the Father has sent to help us remember God’s word in the midst of the battle and to enable us to have a peace that the world will not understand.

When the world sees us at peace they may mistake it for callousness, cold-heartedness or insensitivity. They do not understand that it is the power of God working in us to give us His Peace.

John 14: 26-37 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

In this life we will have battles. We should be quick to win the war, because the battle is in our mind, whether we will trust God with this conflict or not. It is with confidence in God’s word that we are able to be at peace in the midst of the storm. We should be quick to trust God and wait to see how He will settle the matter.

“Quicker war, quicker peace!”