12 KEYS TO INWARD PEACE
1. Gratitude
We want our children to be grateful; when someone gives them something we prompt them with, “Now what do you say?” When trained, they learn to say “Thank You.” Why do we want them to do this? Because we want them to acknowledge that they have been given something by someone. Gratitude causes us to acknowledge a gift or service and to voice appreciation for the one doing the giving. How does this give us peace? Thanking God for His manifold blessings, this calms our anxieties, while we pray with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6). We are not anxious about the things in this world and therefore gain peace. Psalm 69:30 says we should “magnifiy Him with thanksgiving.” Our grateful attitude can magnify God and let others see Him through us. God’s will is that we give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
2. Humility
Gratitude will make us humble, and humility also contributes to inward peace. When we are humble we are not striving to be like others; not being focused on “climbing the social or economic ladders” allows us to have a Christ-like spirit about us. Peace comes from knowing that if we cannot do anything of ourselves, we can do all things through Christ (Phiippians 4:13). Jesus said if we will humble ourselves as a little child (Matthew 18:4) we can be great in the kingdom of heaven. Children are usually at peace with themselves and others, so let us learn the lesson Jesus is teaching here and be humble.
3. Trust
King David is a great example of trusting in God. Hunted and pursued by Saul, He had many times of fear and anxiety, yet trusted in God for deliverance and safety. “I trusted in thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my God. My times are in Thy hand…” (Psa. 31:14-15). Do you truly trust God? Can you say that your “times” are in God’s hands? When we trust, we don’t worry. Jesus told us not to worry about tomorrow in Matthew 6:34. Worry destroys our peace, because when we worry we are not trusting in God. The word “trust” appears 50 times in the book of Psalms: It would be a good study to go to each of these verses and learn what the Holy Spirit is teaching us. We are blessed when we trust in God (Psa. 34:8). “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isa. 26:3).
4. Belief
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1). When we believe God and His word, our troubled hearts have peace. Paul says there is “peace in believing” (Rom. 15:13). True faith anchors us to God and brings a calm that we won’t find in this world. “Great peace have they which love Thy law…” (Psa. 119:165). Do you love God’s law? If you don’t have peace, maybe you should look to God’s word. Begin a deeper, personal study.
5. Peace with others
If we aren’t at peace with others, we can’t see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Paul tells us to “follow after the things which make for peace” in Romans 14:19, and “Peace” is found 11 times in the 16 chapters of Romans. By inspiration, Paul found it an important concept to write about and teach us. The words of Romans 12:18 should be memorized and followed by all Christians, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” We cannot change others nor control their actions, but we can change how we react to them. When we accept this truth, it will bring us peace. With the peace God gives, we can resist the urge to fight back or retaliate when we have been wronged in some way.
6. Self-examination
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Cor. 13:5). The Greek word for examine means to test or scrutinize (Strong’s G3985). Paul says we are to look carefully at ourselves, making sure that we are not deceiving ourselves in anyway. We forfeit peace when we try to mask who we really are. Throughout the Old Testament, God asks His people to “consider their ways” (Lam. 3:40; Hag. 1:7). He wanted them to measure their righteousness by the light of His truth. In the same way, we should hold ourselves up to the light of the word and see if we measure up to His standards. Psalm 119:59 says, “I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies.” Introspection is good for us. It can bring us back into the light and give us the peace God wants us to have. We cannot have peace within ourselves until we have a clear conscience and “our heart does not condemn us” (1 John 3:20-21).
7. Meditation
Meditation is a very biblical topic. Isaac went out to meditate in the field in Genesis 24:63. God told Joshua to meditate on the law day and night in Joshua 1:8. Paul told Timothy to meditate on the things that he taught him (1 Tim. 4:15). Meditation is “quiet contemplation of spiritual truths” (NKJ Open Bible). Inward peace can be achieved by meditating on God’s word and how it applies in our lives. Meditation can be wholesome and helpful; “To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6). Our meditations ought to be pleasing and acceptable to God (Psa. 19:14) and He does not leave us in the dark as to what we should meditate on: He tells us to meditate on His law (Psa. 119:97), all of His work (Psa. 77:12) and all of the virtuous things Paul mentions in Philippians 4:8.
The Psalms speak of meditating in the night, on our beds: “I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches” (Psa. 63:6); “I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search” (Psa. 77:6); “Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still”.
“Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word” (Psa. 119:148).
The idea of the psalmist here is, that he anticipated these regular divisions of the night in order that he might engage in devotion. Instead of waiting for their return, he arose for prayer before they recurred – so much did his heart delight in the service of God. The language would seem to be that of one who was accustomed to pray in these successive “watches” of the night – the early, the middle, and the dawn. This may illustrate what occurs in the life of all who love God. They will have regular seasons of devotion, but they will often anticipate those seasons (emphasis mine L.R.). They will be in a state of mind which prompts them to pray; when nothing will meet their state of mind but prayer; and when they cannot wait for the regular and ordinary season of devotion – like a hungry man who cannot wait for the usual and regular hour of his meals. The meaning of the phrase, “mine eyes prevent,” is that he awoke before the usual time for devotion. (Barnes)
Are we this eager to study and pray? Or do you find that you completely forget God and His word in the rush of daily chores and obligations? Meditation helps us find the peace that God offers for our day to day lives.
8. Love God and Man
Hatred always brings strife and bitterness, but loving God and man can bring peace within. Hatred is a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) but love is listed along with peace as a fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). When we truly love God and man, we will do all in our power to be at peace with both. With God, we will cling to Him and obey Him. With man we will do our best to get along and show kindness. Loving relationships will give us peace.
9. Prayer
“Oh how praying rests the weary,
Hymn: Did You Think to Pray? by Mary A. Kidder
prayer can change the night to day.
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
Prayer CAN change things. Think of the church praying for Peter in Acts 12. Jesus told us to “ask, …seek, …knock” (Mat. 7:7). David prayed in the evening, in the morning and at noon (Psa. 55:17). James says if we are afflicted we should pray (Jam. 5:13). We have the privilege of going into the throne room of God (Heb. 4:16) and casting all our cares upon Him (1 Pet. 5:7). I imagine the God’s throne room as a very peaceful place—the place where we can go to find peace. We can go to Him anytime with the “full assurance of faith”, knowing He will hear us and give us the peace we desire. If you don’t have peace in your life, pray!
10. Know Jesus
There used to be a common bumper sticker that said, “No Jesus, No Peace. KNOW Jesus, know peace!” To know someone is to be acquainted with them. The gospel accounts were written so that we might know Jesus and believe on Him (John 20:31). Do you know Jesus? Have you studied His life and learned how precious and wonderful He really is? He is “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Jesus is THE Prince of Peace! He came to give us peace and said “in Me ye might have peace…be of good cheer” (John 16:33). Because He is our salvation, we should not fear nor be afraid (Psa. 27:1) but we should be at peace within ourselves resting in the knowledge that we can be at peace in Him.
11. Have no fear
We are not talking about Godly fear here, but the worldly, mistrustful fear that takes away peace, being fearful of the unknown and the future. God encouraged Joshua to “do not be afraid, neither be dismayed” (Jos. 1:9). Why? Because “the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” We should not fear the things we do not know, nor let fear and worry extinguish the peace that we have in Christ. Listen to the Words of the Lord in Isaiah 41:13: “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee,” words of comfort and peace for the child of God.
12. Know that God will not forsake you
He promised! “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5), “for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Deu. 31:6), “…for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee” (Psa. 9:10). If you are not close to God; if you are struggling because you have no peace; it is not God who has moved, but you! God does not change so if you are not close to God, who moved?
Nothing can separate us from Him and the peace that He gives (Rom. 8:38-39), except our own rebellious hearts!
Excerpt from a manuscript for the 2017 Memphis School of Preaching Lectures