Let Peace Rule

Reading assignment: Colossians 3, 4, I Thess. 1, Proverbs 8

Col. 3:15 (NKJV)
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

One of the most important things to learn in our walk with God is to recognize and follow the peace of God in our hearts. The book of Proverbs tells us that all the paths of wisdom are peace – Prov. 3:17. James confirms this by declaring the wisdom of God is peaceable – Jas. 3:17. Each of these verses makes it clear if we want to walk in God’s wisdom and direction for our lives we must make following peace a priority.

God’s peace in our hearts or lack of it is one of the primary means He directs our lives, especially in subjective decisions that are not clearly outlined in His Word. For example, we know God’s Word tells us we are to work so we don’t have to pray about the decision to either get a job or stay at home and watch old movies all day. But the Bible does not tell us which job to take if we have more than one choice. These decisions where the Word of God is not clear require us to follow His peace in our hearts.

Have you ever been in a place or with a person when you lost all peace on the inside? I have. That was God trying to lead us to leave that place or be careful about connecting with that individual. The less peace we have normally means the more serious the situation and all the more reason to follow peace. One fall day in 1989 Paul Milligan was scheduled to fly to San Francisco on a business trip. He was to meet with a prospective client to sign a contract that was potentially very lucrative for his business.

He already had to cancel a previously scheduled trip with this client so this trip was important. The evening before the trip Paul began to become unsettled in his heart. The next day he lost all peace about making the trip. After praying about this all morning, he finally told his secretary to call and cancel the trip. He had no other reason to cancel except he had no peace. Paul knew the Word and the Holy Spirit so he decided to follow peace and trust God with the results.

In this case, following peace could have cost him tens of thousands of dollars in new business. That afternoon at about one hour after his scheduled flight would have arrived, San Francisco had a huge earthquake. The very bridge he would have been travelling on at the time the earthquake hit was destroyed and many people on that bridge lost their lives. It turns out it was much more profitable for Paul to follow peace that day.

This verse in Colossians chapter three urges us to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. The word rule means “to umpire.” An umpire makes calls in a game that determine whether one is safe or out. In the game of life, the peace of God in our hearts is our umpire. Following peace will keep us safe. Failing to follow it can have serious repercussions.

What do you have to lose? Trust God and follow His peace in your heart. You will never regret it.