This world is full of unrest and turmoil. There is turmoil in hearts, homes, communities, churches and nations. There is international turmoil, with the world appearing as a seething mass of unrest. People long for peace, but peace comes only when turmoil is removed. Unrest, wherever found, indicates irritation. Unrest is a fever — a symptom that something is not going right somewhere.
If we do not have peace with God, it is because there is something causing irritation in the heart.
One thing that causes irritation and destroys peace is sin. We cannot have peace with God with sin in our hearts. The soul can never be at rest with that quiet peaceable rest while indulging in sin of any sort or while sin that has been indulged in is unrepented of. But there is a remedy for sin. That remedy is available today. We can remove the irritation by confessing it and taking God’s way out.
Another source of irritation in the soul is unbelief. We may find calmness and rest in our souls if we believe in God. The doubts and fears that irritate and destroy peace will vanish when belief comes into the heart. Peace, like the calm after a great storm, will settle down over the soul. But peace cannot come so long as unbelief irritates and annoys the soul.
Another thing that prevents peace in many a soul is self-will. If we refuse to submit to God’s will, the relationship with God cannot be a relationship of peace and confident trust. To have peace, we must rid ourselves of self-will. We must submit ourselves to the will of God. We must say from the bottom of our heart, “not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42) Then the peace of God which passes all understanding will keep our hearts and minds, and we shall know the blessedness of true rest of soul.
Self-will is the cause of the lack of peace that exists in many families. There is a clashing of wills that brings irritation, unrest and dissatisfaction, which results in ill feeling, resentment and bitterness.
Self-will brings unhappiness wherever it operates. Peace cannot abide in the same heart or in the same home with this destroyer of happiness.
Self-will in the church is the cause of more trouble than any other one thing. That disposition to demand that things go the way we think they ought to go, and the setting up of our will above the will of others, the winning of our way — may give us temporary pleasure of a certain sort. It may give us a selfish satisfaction that comes from having our own way but it will destroy the peace of the church and the peace of our own hearts.
Submitting our will is the hardest thing we have to do, but it is the thing we must do before we can have true peace. Self-will is based on pride. Where there is contention in the family, the community, the church, the nation we can easily locate the trouble. We can easily find the root of the matter. The wise man tells us “Pride only breeds quarrels” (Proverbs 13:10). Here the destroyer of peace is traced back to his den. Excess of self-esteem, which is a form of pride, causes people to be self-willed, and self-will destroys peace.
The nations could be at peace, if they would justly esteem each other and each other’s rights but this they will not do. In the same manner, communities could be at peace, but pride brings contention. Homes, churches and people could be at peace if they would get rid of that pride that breeds quarrels. People do not feel disposed to contend unless they have pride in their hearts.
To be sure we must contend for the faith sometimes, but this is quite another thing. We may contend for the faith in a thoroughly peaceable manner, or we may do so in a self-willed contentious manner. The latter never brings peace — only turmoil and division.
Would you have peace with God? Do you wish rest, comfort and happiness in your soul? God is not your enemy. His thoughts toward you are thoughts of peaceableness (Jeremiah 29:11), and he tells us that the effect of righteousness, shall be peace (Isaiah 32:17). To be at peace with God is to get rid of those disturbing elements in our own hearts and minds — get rid of our sins by trusting in Christ for salvation — get rid of all unbelief by taking God at his word and trusting him sincerely — get rid of our self-will through the blood of Christ and through submitting our wills to God — then we may have peace with God and peace within ourselves. We shall have “all joy and peace in believing” (Romans 15:13).
But to keep this peace we must follow after the things that make for peace (Romans 14:19). We must “seek peace, and pursue it.” We must do those things which belong to peace and hold the attitude that brings peace. Peace will begin and peace will abide — when those things are removed which destroy peace.
Charles Wesley Naylor is considered one of the most prolific and inspiring songwriters of the Church of God. He was bedridden for much of his adult life but wrote eight books, a newspaper column and over 150 songs. Many of his writings are in the public domain.
