“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:15
Let’s face it…conflict is a part of life. We all wish we could avoid it. We all wish we could understand it when it emerges, and yet it continues to be one of the most puzzling and baffling unfolding of events despite our best efforts to get our heads around our sometimes impossible-to-understand hearts!
In a fallen world, it’s simply impossible to avoid conflict. So what is a soul to do, weary and worn down from unwanted relational conflict? How do we survive the wear and tear of conflict and come out on the other side in one piece? How can we know what to do?
I believe that we will never know what to do on our own…but Jesus knows! And so, like a child running into our mother’s arms, we fall on Jesus. We cry out to Jesus in the midst of the storm and receive His perfect peace. Just as Christ calmed the raging sea, He can calm the tsunami rising up in your heart and “rule” over it until it recedes into holy submission to Him.
Life doesn’t have to be a series of knee-jerk reactions, one after another. Rather, choosing to submit to Jesus leads to the fruits of self-control as we embrace Jesus’s perfect pathway to peace. Knowing that our help comes from the Lord stays off the urge to believe the great lie from the enemy that you are a victim. Rather, try to view suffering from the perspective that when things aren’t going your way, you are being made holy as you submit your will to the Father’s will. This process of submitting may require a fearless self-inventory of our actions, motives, and thoughts to reveal error and truth so that we can make needed corrections. Remember, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) and give yourself a large dose of GRACE knowing that Jesus is FAITHFUL and MIGHTY TO SAVE! (Zephaniah 3:17).
Jesus himself tread the wine press alone and went to the cross, suffering and dying for us while we were still sinners (Isaiah 63:3, Romans 5:8). Jesus knows the bitterness of betrayal and the loneliness of standing firm in faith when no one else is standing with you. Jesus is the only source of love powerful enough to tame our sin and rule over our hearts with peace . . . HIS PEACE.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:15
In this verse Paul uses the word “rule” to describe Christ’s role in “ruling over” our wayward hearts. The word “rule” means “to exercise control, dominion, or direction over; to govern; to have powerful influence over.” If you asked me, I would tell you that the thought of someone “ruling over my heart” would make me feel a little uncomfortable and would probably make any emotionally healthy person shudder at the thought of it . . . because no one wants to be “controlled or ruled over.” But in matters of the heart, we NEED Jesus to do just that . . . to rule over our hearts, because left to our own devices, we will surely make a mess of things if we aren’t careful!
None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes and say the wrong things, well intentioned or not. But don’t fear! Jesus knows our hearts better than we do! Placing our lives under His authority will allow us to receive Him through the Holy Spirit so HE can guide our hearts, minds, and mouths—our attitudes and our actions. We can face each day with confidence knowing that Jesus has our backs even when we make a mess of things, but we must choose to allow Jesus to lead us and not the other way around! We all have our free will, which can be both a beautiful and a dangerous thing.
Paul admonished us to surrender our will to God’s will by allowing Jesus full control over our unruly hearts and lives. Truthfully, it is the heart that can lead us astray becoming the center of our conflict because it is in and through the heart that our feelings and desires clash and self-deception can occur.
From the heart can come the most beautiful or dangerous emotions:
Fear vs. Hope. Distrust vs. Trust. Jealousy vs. Love.
It is only when we finally surrender and place our brokenness, pain, and loss under the authority of Christ that we will find clarity and healing.
Hurting people hurt people, but healed hearts are ready to minister to others.
How do we acquire a healed heart? Through honest confession, offering grace and giving forgiveness to yourself and others is key. This kind of submission and Christ-like love cannot be accomplished in our own strength.
Forgiveness is the gift of God.
And so, we must die to ourselves, our selfish ambition and desires to truly live for Jesus and do the will of the Father.
As we endeavor to live our lives in submission to the Holy Spirit, always seeking the will of the Father and living by the example Jesus set for us, we will begin to taste the sweetness of the fruits of the Spirit rather than the bitterness of our failures. Our loving Father has a plan even for fallen fruit! Just as the very fruit that falls to the ground and decays becomes the compost that fertilizes the hardened soil, so it can be in our hearts if we surrender our pain and mistakes to Jesus who is able to give us a new life, hope, and a future! (Jeremiah 29:11).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
Galatians 5:22-23
Ahhhhh. That feels better! “The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Holy Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control—we can’t obtain them by trying to get them without His help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to His” (NIV Application).
What does it mean to “join our lives” with Christ? Just as a vine is “connected” to the branch to receive nourishment and strength for life, so we must connect our hearts and souls to Jesus and surrender to Him to receive spiritual growth in our lives so that we can produce “good fruit” . . . fruit that lasts!
Jesus spoke of this analogy of the vine and the branches to help us understand how important is to stay “connected” to Him through the Holy Spirit:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2)
Then in verses 4 and 5 Jesus continues:
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The only way to navigate through the minefield of relational conflict is by following the promptings of the Holy Spirit who gives us the heart of CHRIST. We do this by choosing each day to abide in Him as we rest in His Holy Presence. The fruits of the spirit are the results of seeking Jesus and living for Jesus and not ourselves (Matt 10:39). This ability to choose Jesus over ourselves will preserve us and others as we walk through conflict at home, at work, in friendships, within ministries, and our churches. Conflict is indeed a part of life, but Jesus has given us everything we need to walk the path of peace to which He has called us to.
When we are hurting, discouraged or weighed down by the challenges of conflict, take heart knowing that we can fall on Jesus and cry out to Him and He will not leave us comfortless! (John 14:18). Choose to be thankful, offering up sincere prayers of gratitude for all Jesus has done for us, and Jesus will calm the raging storm in our hearts as He speaks gently over each of us . . .
“Peace, be still.”
Supporting Verses:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
Featured Artist:
“Supernatural Peace” by Michael Belk from the Journeys with the Messiah collection. To know more, click this link:
http://www.journeyswiththemessiah.org/t-thestory.aspx
Featured Worship Song:
“Oceans” by Hillsong United