Peace in the In-Between - Devotion 5

How is Peace Found? 

How do I find peace? (I am really glad you asked that question.) 

The obvious answer is Jesus because He is the answer to every question that is asked about spiritual things, right? Give “Jesus” as the answer; it sounds really spiritual. While Jesus is the answer to your question above, how do you actually find peace in Jesus? 

Let us look at what Jesus said in Luke 4:16-21: 

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” 

Does that passage from Isaiah sound familiar? You read that passage earlier this week. The place where peace is found is Jesus. Only in Him can you find physical peace, mental peace, and the foundation of it all, spiritual peace. Jesus is the fulfillment of what Isaiah had prophesied centuries earlier. Jesus was bringing glory to the Father in the fulfillment of this passage. That was His purpose.  

Peace comes to the earth (and to our lives) when God’s glory is the thing that we are living for. When anyone seeks to live for their own glory or other glories, peace cannot come. It is only a life that is pointed at Jesus, one that lives for Him and thereby brings Him glory. Then peace can reign in a life. 

It is time to come before the manger and bow before Him. God’s glory equals peace. It is time to be astonished at the peace of God, at the very glory of God. God is with you everywhere you go! When you wake up like Jacob did, you realize that the place that you are in is an awesome place. No matter where you are, God is with you, and that is an awesome place! That is a place of God’s glory. That is a place of peace.  

It is all about who is in control of your life. Who is in control of your life today? Where do you dwell? Where are you looking for peace? What is the name that is written on your heart? Let me propose to you that if you do not have peace, the name that is written on your heart is something other than Jesus. This can be true of anyone. So, this is not a time to check out because you have accepted Christ and given Him your life. We all can easily write other names on our hearts. So, what name is written? Is it an addiction, a bad marriage, dissatisfied with a job, feeling unlovable, an outcast, feeling no one cares, financial problems, failure, depression, anxiety, false independence, or is that name even your own name? If any of that is true, peace cannot be found.  

Here is where things can change, though. Remember that where Jacob found himself when fleeing from Esau was named Luz. It was a normal place. However, when God showed up and Jacob had an encounter with God, the name changed to Bethel - the House of God. Here is where peace comes. Let the name that is written on your heart change from anything that it currently is, and let God replace it with the name of Jesus.  

If you have never given your heart to Jesus, do it right where you sit reading this book. Give Him your heart and let the name that is written on your heart change! Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” If you are reading right now and you have allowed other names to be written on your heart, let God erase them and re-write Jesus. Only then can you have peace. 

Call on the name of Jesus today. Living in the in-between can be a place of peace as you point your life toward Jesus. 

Peace came down, and His name is Jesus.