Peace with God

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:1

Sometimes, the struggles of life can cause us to doubt the authenticity of the scripture above.

Why should a Christian experience stress and thoughts of anxiety if they have peace with God?

Why should a Child of God cry out in anguish and pain if we have peace with God?

Why is there a constant battle between the spirit and the flesh if we have peace with God?

We encounter Christians who share a similar plight to that of Job and end up questioning the very definition of peace in our Christian walk.

One of the definitions of peace in the Oxford Dictionary is freedom from external disturbance, interference or perturbation, esp. of an individual. Another definition of peace in the same dictionary is freedom from quarrels or dissension.

But candidly, how should a Christian define peace? Isaiah 53:5 says:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him.

and by his wounds we are healed.”

The sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ brought us peace, but we tend to limit the context of peace to cover only the absence of disturbance and disorder.

Peace with God is not limited to tranquillity in all our circumstances.

Taking a little Biblical historical journey back to the first book of the bible, the creation of mankind.:

“Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26)

We were created in the image of God to have dominion over the earth, but the separation of sin deprived us of our calling. Think about it for a moment, how can a son continue the legacy of his father if the son is at loggerheads with his father, who gave him his purpose. Unless the son makes peace with his father, and that's what Jesus did for us.

One may feel disappointed that this isn’t an assurance of absence from disturbance, but it really is. Peace with God does not merely mean being able to sleep soundly at night, even though that's a calming byproduct.

Before Christ, obedience to the law determined our standing with God, but after death, grace determined our standing with God. As Romans 5:2 says:

“through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

Being at peace with God means we can hope for the glory of God to be revealed in our lives. We can become a true reflection of God. The God who said, “Let there be light,” to the formless, dark and void world.

Peace is not the absence of problems but rather freedom from their shackles.

If we have been made at peace with God, our Father, there is no chaos, disturbance or problem of any form that can hold our mind captive. And that's more than enough to put you right to a sound sleep.

Cheers!!!