Do you have personal peace - peace with God, peace with
family and friends, peace of mind? Peace is one of the great quests of mankind!
For those who know God through faith, personal peace is mentioned as one of the
fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22) that he desires us to have.
Is
it true? Can somebody who is a Christian have personal peace? We explored this
topic in a study performed in Bartlesville, OK at Grace Community Church (MacIlvaine WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of religious adherence to quality
of life measures. Complement Ther Clin Pract
2013;19:251-255). On one Sunday, at two services, we asked the adult
population to complete a questionnaire regarding different aspects of their
wellbeing including peace as well as their adherence to the practice of their
faith.
How did we define adherence to faith? From the Bible we
delineated the following as ‘adherence to faith’ if: they proclaimed to be a
Christian through personal faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross
as a free gift of salvation; they were secure in their salvation; and they frequently
utilized the five tools to maturity in their lives (prayer, praise, faith,
reaching out and growing in knowledge of scripture) (Acts 2:42,47, Eph 2 :8-9, Rom 3:23-26, Pet 1:4-5, John 10:27-30).
The results of the survey showed on a visual analog scale of
0-6 the average level of peace was 1.8 for the entire congregation (0 being
most and 6 being least) - not bad! However, when we separated the congregation
into groups based on adherence to faith there was a highly significant
difference between groups with the more adherent group having greater peace!
What explains the finding? Well we don’t know for certain, but
four potential reasons come to mind.
First, the
practice of Christianity causes us to focus on a higher being that has purposes
higher than our own. This focus may make help take our mind away from our own anxious
thoughts.
Second, the
adherence to the practice of Christianity provides for prayer to an accepting
great high priest, Jesus Christ, who cares for our every time and need (Heb
14-16).
Third, we know knowledge
is power. Christianity furnishes an excellent text, the Bible, which teaches us
the truths about God so we know how to think of ourselves correctly and do not
believe lies about God.
Lastly, Christianity
urges us to reach out and touch others within our faith and to provide community
service. Consequently, this helps us not to concentrate on our own anxieties
and issues (MacIlvaine
WR, Nelson LA, Stewart JA, Stewart WC. Association of strength of community service to personal
wellbeing. Community Ment Health J 2014;50:577-582).
How can I get peace? Make sure you are a Christian and know
that your sins have been forgiven freely by faith in Christ.
You then should realize that God accepts you and this great salvation cannot be
taken away. Practicing your faith
balanced between the five tools of maturity mentioned above will help build the
mindset and practices which the Spirit can use to build peace. It takes time
and commitment, but you can do it. The fruits are there and blessings beyond
measure.
Tell me what you think as well as your questions!
