Hectic All Around But Peaceful Inside

Have you ever had what seemed to be a hectic moment? Maybe a hectic morning? Maybe you wake up late, your running behind and there are, what feels like, a million things to do. The kids need a few things, your spouse does as well and everyone has to be somewhere on time! It may seem hectic all around you but stop and take a moment, what are you experiencing on the inside? Are you peaceful on the inside? Let me encourage you all, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you do in fact have true peace, eternal peace! As we learned last week, we do not naturally have peace and this is because we are all imperfect sinners. Our sin separates us from God and our sin leads to death. (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 6:23) Our sins prevent us from having peace with God. We also learned that peace is not a superficial feeling nor can we just decide that we are at peace, we must receive peace. The only way that we can receive peace is to invite Jesus Christ into our hearts and our lives as our personal Lord and Savior, admitting that we are sinners and that we need Jesus to save us, with sincere belief in Jesus and His sacrifice of death on the cross to save us from our sins and that He rose to life again! All who believe in Jesus receive eternal life in Him and eternal forgiveness for all of their past, present and future sins in Him! Jesus is our peace and it is only through Him and belief in Him that we receive peace with God, true eternal peace! Now, if you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then I implore you not to turn away! God has brought you here and He is working in your heart and in your life at this very moment! God loves every bit of you perfectly as you are! God knows every bit of you even better than you know yourself, for God created you, your inmost being! There is nothing that you can conceal from God, for God knows all of your thoughts, actions and words even before they occur and yet He loves you with an everlasting love! It is God alone who we sin against and yet it is God who has blessed us with His free gift of salvation in Jesus. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV) We must accept God’s free gift of salvation in Jesus by faith. (Romans 3:25) Romans 10:9 says that “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NIV) If you have come to understand and admit that you are a sinner and if you believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins and that He rose to life again, then you can invite Jesus into your heart and your life as your personal Lord and Savior and receive eternal life in Him! You can pray a prayer like this:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I know that I am a sinner and that I need Jesus to save me. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins and that He rose to life again. God I am sorry for my sin. I invite Jesus into my heart and my life as my personal Lord and Savior. I commit my life to you.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Now if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have received eternal life in Jesus and eternal forgiveness for every single one of your past, present and future sins in Him and you now have peace with God through Jesus! Jesus is our peace! (Ephesians 2:14) It is no longer you who lives for, through Jesus, you have died to sin and death and now you are alive to God in Jesus and Jesus is your life! (Galatians 2:20, Colossians 3:4) Jesus lives in your inner being as your personal Lord and Savior and you have peace with God through Him! Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (NIV) You have been eternally redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus who loves you and gave Himself for you! Jesus paid the full price for you and now you have true eternal peace in Him!

So now back to our hectic morning scenario. Stop and take a moment. Quiet yourself and be still. Be sill in the Lord and meditate on Him! Remember, in Jesus you have true eternal peace and Jesus lives in your inner being as your personal Lord and Savior! You have everything that you need in Jesus! Jesus is living in you and He is your eternal peace! God has blessed you with eternal peace in Jesus so meditate on your Savior! No matter what is happening around you, you always have true inner peace! You always have that peace whether you chose to focus on it or not. Rather than focusing on the hectic world around you, rest in Jesus! Keep your eyes and your heart fixed upon Jesus who is the author and perfecter of your faith! (Hebrews 12:2) Enjoy the true eternal peace you have in your Savior, Jesus, and rejoice in the Lord! You will never be without peace again! It is done, it is finished! Jesus paid the full price for you to reconcile you to God by the shedding of His blood for you! Romans 5:1-2 says “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. (NIV) Praise God for His perfect love and His perfect grace, for none of us deserve either!

Be encouraged my dear friends! You have every reason to rejoice in the Lord! God is in control of all things and His will is always done! God has a perfect plan for your life and His plan is to bless you! (Jeremiah 29:11) God always works everything out for the good of His children and in your Savior Jesus you are a child of God! (Romans 8:28, John 1:12) You are guaranteed a perfectly blessed future in your Savior Jesus and an eternal future in Heaven with Him because He redeemed you with His precious blood shed for you! You have not a thing to fear! God always knows exactly what you need in each moment of your life, even when you do not, and God will always bless you with exactly what you need in each and every moment of your life according to His perfect will! Go forth rejoicing and enjoying the eternal life to which you have been called in your Savior Jesus and enjoy the peace you have in Him! Remember to keep your heart and your mind fixed upon Jesus! As Isaiah 26:3 says “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. (NIV) Trust in the Lord! Rest in Him and His endless grace and power! God is your strength! Remember that Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV) God has blessed you with peace in your Savior Jesus so rest in Him and keep yourself fixed upon Him! Even when times seem difficult in life do not fret or get discouraged! Remember that God is in control of all things and He is always working everything out for your good! God blesses us with struggles in our lives to teach us and to shape us even further into the children of God that He has created us to be in Him! We should endure hardship as discipline from the Lord for God is treating us as His precious, dearly loved children, because in Jesus that is who we are! (Hebrews 12:7) As Hebrews 12:11 says “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (NIV) Hardships may not seem pleasant while we are experiencing them but God is blessing us with exactly what we need in each moment and He is preparing us even better for the blessed eternal life to which He has called us in our Savior Jesus! John 16:33 says “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV) Jesus has overcome the world, He has conquered sin and death for you! You have not a thing to fear!

Now let those hectic surroundings melt away and continue to rejoice in the Lord and enjoy the peace that you have in your Savior Jesus! Don’t spend another minute focusing on the world or its sinful ways, for you have been redeemed from it all and you have been appointed to eternal life in Jesus who loves you and gave Himself for you! Enjoy the eternal peace you have in your Savior and rejoice without ceasing for you are perfectly, eternally blessed in your Savior Jesus! Go forth in each situation resting in Jesus and meditating on Him! Enjoy being the vessel through which Jesus shares His truth and love with others! As we are instructed in Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (NIV) Be thankful and praise God without ceasing, for you may have what seems to be hectic surroundings but you most definitely have inner peace in your Savior Jesus and you get to be the vessel through which the light of God shines upon all those around you extending the offer of peace to all!