WHEN OTHERS CHOOSE CONFLICT, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE PEACE?

SCRIPTURE:
Being justified by faith, 
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  
(Romans 5:1)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever known someone 
who seemed to enjoy confrontation and creating problems?
Whenever that person is around, peace and harmony does not exist.
You may have exhausted all your efforts to try to help them change, 
but nothing worked.
After awhile, you decided that you would be better off 
avoiding that person as much as possible.

It is difficult to understand what causes a person to be like that, 
especially since most people would rather have a peaceful lifestyle.
How can you achieve peace in this type of stormy environment?
If you are a believer, you have to establish a peace with God 
that overrides any turmoil created by others.

The good news is, Jesus made it possible to have peace with God.
When we have faith in Him as the Son of God and, as a result, 
receive God’s gift of salvation, then it should bring a 
unique type of peace into our personal lives.
After all, peace with the One who can provide everlasting life 
is what we should all be seeking.

Before the Big Four Conference in Geneva, President Eisenhower knelt in 
a chapel and asked God for divine guidance in the deliberations 
he would be involved in soon. 
Afterwards, President Eisenhower 
displayed the spirit of a true peacemaker on an international level.
Eisenhower knew the value of seeking God’s help in establishing peace 
and we should learn from his example.

In order to create a peaceful environment, 
people as individuals need to know the peace of God.
The basic cause of crime and war is the inherent sinfulness of human nature.
Unless people can overcome the natural tendency to sin, 
it is going to be difficult to ever witness universal peace.
The world cannot be ‘reborn’ 
until people are ‘born again’ and are at peace with God.

ACTION:
Have you made peace with your Heavenly Father?
Has His peace become a part of His remolding you as His adopted child?
Have you developed the ability to remind yourself 
of your peace with God whenever there is turmoil all around you?
Do you allow His peace to flow through you?
Rather than reacting with anger, 
learn to become the peacemaker God expects you to be.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me what real peace looks and feels
like. Thank You for creating an opportunity for me to have peace with You. 
Help me to allow Your peace to not only have a positive impact on my own 
life, but to also allow it to flow through me to others. I know that when 
others see Your peace in me, they will become more interested in Your Son, 
Jesus Christ. I pray for Your blessings and peace on all who are spreading 
the Gospel here and around the world.”