“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)
Before I was saved, I did not think peace was something I was seeking, in fact, quite the opposite. As a Vietnam Vet, I took on a forced personality transformation as a way of self-preservation. Outwardly I was rock-solid and hard to read, meaning no one knew the depth of meanness behind the facial expression, or lack thereof.
My stature was large, also to my advantage. I remember numerous times being challenged by some who were smaller in size who felt the need to prove themselves somehow. One such night, while drinking in a country bar, a drunk followed me into the men’s room. As I was attempting to leave the room, he had blocked the way and stood sizing me up with the words; “You’re a pretty big man, aren’t you!” His rough tone spoke the challenge even louder.
I responded, “You got that right!” With my cold glare, he stepped aside without another word.
I had an anger burning within me that even I did not understand, however, I kept adding fuel to it, and it became even hotter.
My grandfather had a temper problem which was quite explosive at times, as I was told. I never personally saw his temper acted out though I had heard stories, but I detected it in his gravely, grumpy voice. His voice was enough to make this little boy tremble in fear.
My own dad possessed this same temper, but he somehow managed to keep it under control most of the time.
I married a very special young woman who loved me and her love helped me to maintain my temperament, at least with her. That is until one day, when she was pregnant with our first child; we got into an argument about something I still cannot remember. I allowed my anger to surface. I screamed; I cursed; I ran out of our small apartment slamming the door as hard as I could on my way out.
I had only taken a few steps from the door when I heard her cry out from within. Her scream was not one of anger. There was a pain and a fear which caused me to return to discover she was bleeding, trembling and crying. We had lost our first child in that moment of uncontrolled anger.
I wish I could say that ended my struggle with temper. It did not. However, a few years later I became born-again, that is I was saved by faith in Jesus Christ. My first and immediate fruit of that experience was that my foul mouth dried up; I lost all desire to curse, to the point I wept when coworkers used the LORD’s name in vain, as I had the day before. The language was the outward expression and fuel of my anger. The LORD had taken that away. I was a man of unclean lips who was touched by a live coal from the LORD’s fire of purification.
Fast forward a few years to show what the LORD can do with a life with little or no control. Every church the LORD assigned me to pastor was in need of a peacemaker pastor. At least 90% of my counseling others has been in the realm of peacemaking. I have been referred to by others in ministry as a Doctor of Peace, or a Doctor of Prayer; a gentle giant.
How is this possible? How can a person change so drastically? The verse I began with is the foundation for this transformation, but there is another I will leave you with from John 15:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples.
9 As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love.”
The way to live in His peace is to abide in Him. Don’t you want that, too?
