Guided by Peace and Thanksgiving

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:15 NLT 

The world is a place of turmoil. There are so many things that erode your peace of mind. It’s not uncommon to hear of the harm and mistreatment one person has inflicted on another. So what do you do? Is there a place of escape when the unpleasant issues of life invade your comfort zone? There must be something you can do when life is overwhelming.

Paul spoke about two things in this verse: peace and thankfulness. So there must be a connection between them. In the secular world, peace is the absence of strife. This strife can be internal or external. When people of faith talk about peace, it is more than the absence of conflict. David expressed it this way in Psalm 34:14,“Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.” So peace does not just happen; it requires something from you. You have to search for it; in other words, you have to examine yourself and do what is needed to preserve the peace.

Paul commanded thankfulness. He was saying, make thanksgiving your lifestyle. There are many components to a lifestyle of thanksgiving. First, you need to give thanks to God. Psalm 9:1 says, “I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.” God has done so many things, some things you know and some things you don’t. When you develop a lifestyle of thanksgiving, you will not become ungrateful to God.

Thanksgiving is not silent, it’s verbal. You open your mouth and thank Him. If someone has been extremely kind, do you see them and say thank you in your mind? That thanksgiving would be of no value because they cannot hear the gratitude of your heart;  you have to verbalize it. When God has been good to you, open your mouth and thank Him. Then you can tell others about God’s goodness and the wonderful things He has done for you.

Thought for Today: Tell of His goodness and be thankful

Have a blessed day and walk in faith and victory.