Are you a snail or a fish? Your answer may determine how much you disrupt any peace in your soul.
In this installment of the summer series on the Fruits of the Spirit, we're looking at the Fruit of peace. In particular, our topic is inner peace that is planted in us by the Holy Spirit, so that peace can also extend to our relationships with others.
The enemy of peace is fear. There's a reason why the Bible, in one way or another, supposedly tells us to "fear not" 386 times, according to Practical Faith Academy podcast guest Patti Smith. Fear is the root that is revealed in its fruit of worry, guilt, and anger.
I roughly approximate that fear has three time zones: Worry is about the future; guilt is about the past; and anger is largely about the present, which is why it can flare up in an instant.
In whatever form it presents itself, fear is debilitating. It's like a weight that is always with us. Simon Tugwell wrote that we need to release our fears, comparing our approach to that of a fish and a snail.
We must learn to pass through situations like a fish, rather than carrying them all with us like a snail.
Even future fear is a weight we can carry around, not just the past. How can we keep swimming through situations that cause us fear?
Jesus suggested his unique form of peace as an antidote to fear, saying in John 14:27:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
How is Jesus's peace different than the peace the world gives? Christ’s peace is independent of circumstances. The world’s peace is about resolution. The circumstance must be resolved for us to feel more peaceful. But how long does that peace last, because the next unresolved circumstance quickly comes? Lasting peace is only possible through the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
Commenting on this passage, William Barclay wrote:
The Greek word for peace (eirene) used in John 14: 27 means more than living a life with no conflict or being quiet, still and at rest. It is used for the calm that a nation or city enjoys when it has a caring, competent, secure leader. In Biblical times, villages had an official who was called the superintendent of the village’s eirene, the keeper of public peace. Having this kind of peace means having tranquility in your heart originating from the understanding that your life is truly in the hands of a loving God.
I've always loved this image that peace is not my own, but something in the hands of our superintendent God, something I know is secure and protected, something that the Spirit can dispense to me as I need it. If it's up to me alone, I'm rarely going to feel very peaceful. I can breathe in the Spirit's peace because it is always available to me when I fear and stress out.
Luke 12:32 is a power-packed verse. Jesus says:
Do not fear, little flock, as your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
Jesus first indicates that God is our shepherd, since we are part of a flock. God is our father. And God is sovereign as the generous ruler of a kingdom. God the shepherd cares for us. God the father loves us. God the sovereign is in control. Why then should we fear? We should experience peace in the knowledge of this verse and in peace's administrator beside and within us, the Holy Spirit.
LOVE CONNECTION: Inner peace can become outer peace. Love can be tumultuous. If the Spirit fruit of peace is developed within us, then we can bring it to bear in stressful times within relationships. It is easier for us to love when we do not allow fear to taint our love. Peace allows us to love freely and consistently.
Please check the Cecil Taylor Ministries home page for the daily schedule of blog posts, devotionals, reels, and more, all designed to help you regularly practice your seven-day practical faith.
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