December 6, 2011
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The Search for Peace
I get a daily devotion from my Dad. Here is today’s that I thought I’d post. I’ve found peace in my writing. Where do you find peace?
So where do we really find peace? Why is peace so elusive? I think it is because we look for peace in all the wrong places. Max Lucado helped me discover something yesterday that I had never given any thought to until now. What do you suppose the days were like before Jesus began His ministry? We know that he was the son of a carpenter, Joseph. He would certainly have learned the family trade. By then, he would have taken over the family business. In his little town of Nazareth, he would have had a comfortable lifestyle. Can you see him in his workshop each day, tending to his business? Can you seeing him caring for his mother and the household? It appeared he would have had a pretty good life.
Today, we would call this lifestyle living the American dream. Good home, nice family, good job. He had it all. Surely, in those circumstances, he would have had peace. You would think! Except for one thing, He was called to do something else. Jesus was not called to be a carpenter; he was called to go preach the Good News. Jesus had just heard that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been put in prison. The scripture says in Mathew 4 that Jesus departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth… I never saw those words before in what it meant for Jesus. Jesus had it all but God was calling Him to much more. He heard the voice of the Father and left all to fulfill His will.
We can have it all. We can be living the American dream and still have nothing, including peace. Peace does not come in comfortable circumstances. Peace comes not in being in the center of a good home, good family and good career. Peace comes in being in the center of the Father’s will. Whatever it is and wherever you are, the main question is, are you doing what the Father has called you to do? If not, peace will elude. Are you searching for peace in your heart? You will only find it in one place, in doing what God has called you to do. In using the gifts god has given you, in doing what you know is the good and right thing in your life. In obedience to the will of God. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Jesus said this, speaking from His own personal experience. He left all for the Father. He had it all, but had nothing until He was fully aligned with what the will of the Father was for His life. How about you? Is your life in alignment with the will of God? Are you doing what God created you to do? If not, peace will elude. If so, peace will abide.
