{"id":771,"date":"2021-08-12T09:51:56","date_gmt":"2021-08-12T14:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=771"},"modified":"2022-12-19T13:25:32","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T19:25:32","slug":"4-indicators-of-gods-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/4-indicators-of-gods-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Indicators of God\u2019s Peace\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c<\/span>Peace in the storm<\/span><\/i>\u201d is the name of the painting. The story goes like this:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was a king who commissioned artists to paint a portrait of peace. His goal was to understand exactly what peace looked like. There were many different works of art submitted; placid lakes, tranquil grassy shorelines, calm blue skies… but the painting he chose was much different.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The winning work of art was of a mountain. However, it was a sharp, rugged, craggy mountain. Overhead there was a stormy, threatening sky with lightning bolts, and coming off the mountain was a roaring waterfall. Everything but peace it seemed! But if you look really closely, behind the waterfall, in a little crack in the rock, there is a nest. In the nest was a bird peacefully tending to her young.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

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Painting is \u201cPeace in the Midst of the Storm\u201d by Jack E. Dawson<\/strong><\/em><\/h6>\n

The king chose this work and then stated: \u201cPeace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise or trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.\u201d <\/span>[1]<\/span><\/sup><\/p>\n

Biblical Peace<\/h4>\n

The Bible describes peace in a very similar way. In John 16:33 Jesus says:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>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.<\/span><\/i>\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Peace is not the absence of conflict or merely calm circumstances, while it could include that, peace is actually the presence of God in the midst of those circumstances. Biblical peace is not something we can create on our own, it is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It\u2019s shalom, wholeness, calmness, completeness with Jesus the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). <\/span>[2]<\/span><\/sup> It is Jesus\u2019 nearness that calms and gives us peace in the middle of the raging storm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a world of chaos, violence, sadness, and instability, how do we know if we have that peace? That is the question I asked myself recently as I was praying over a large financial decision. I was praying for direction and that sense of \u201cpeace\u201d over my decision. It was this process that prompted me to consider the question: \u201cWhat does God\u2019s peace tangibly look like in my life?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n