“The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in
their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall
not know peace.” –Isaiah 59-8
True peace
is a highly sought after. No doubt, millions of books, seminars, and blogs
are written and published with the sole purpose of providing the consumer with a
path to peace. Typically, the path to
peace is paved with your ability to fulfill the lack of something. It could be a sum of money, a relationship; a
state of mind, the list goes on. In short, the message runs to the effect
of “Clearly you don’t have peace because you clearly don’t have: (fill in the
blank).”
If America were a rock
band, peace through indulgence would defiantly be on their Greatest Hits
album. Consider the facts, who among us
is elevated, adored, exalted? Is it not those with limitless wealth and
power to indulge? Can you watch 5 minutes of television without this
message, in some forum or fashion, being presented: “You have a demand? I
have the supply!” What do they want in exchange to supply your need or
want? They want your money of course, so that they can turn around and
supply their want or need. Those with the power to indulge and provide
indulgence are championed in this world, and they are considered to “have it
all.” Empires are built through indulgence; millions are searching for
something to satisfy the craving of their soul. They are hungering for
true peace, real belonging, genuine love, absolute acceptance; and millions
more are indulging on something to help them forget about their hopeless
pursuit for true peace. This commodity of peace is being daily traded and
paraded across this land to those wishing for it when all the while “the
way of peace they know not.” Those who are selling peace
and those who are buying it neither know true peace or know the way of
it. If they knew then they would understand that peace is not something
that can be bought or earned, it cannot be traded or acquired, because true
peace is not the world’s to give. The world offers only counterfeit peace
to God’s real, genuine, true peace. One
must understand that love, joy, and peace, belong to God. The empty void
one feels in their heart and the longing for peace in their soul cannot be
satisfied by the world. The tempest of struggle
that rages within your soul and the constant war that is caged within your mind
will not be quieted by anything other than the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Another self-help book, boyfriend or
girlfriend, extra shift at work so you can have more money, fancy dinner or
luxurious cruise will not bring peace to the tempest within. To find peace one must leave off peace as a
commodity and embrace it as an entity, an entity of Jesus Christ.
True peace belongs to God,
and is found in Christ. Therefore, you
need Christ to have peace. We need Jesus, only when you recognize your
lack of him and repent of your sins. When you have a witness that he has
forgiven you of your trespass and purified your soul of all committed sin; then
and only then, are you a ready vessel to seek the Holy Ghost. A Holy Ghost that will purge the “can’t
help it” sin within. This Holy Ghost will user in peace, love, joy, and
holiness into your heart and grant you passage to a home in heaven. The
way of peace is the way of holiness.
True peace is holiness.
