Hello, friend! Welcome to my blog. I hope you’re doing well! Today I’ll be continuing in the Fruit of the Spirit series, and this time we’re talking about peace.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (bold added)

What does peace mean exactly?

It means freedom from sadness, a calm state. To help you understand how we receive that from God, I’d like to tell you about a man who found peace in his life because of Him.

Prisoner Turned To Peace

Louis Zamperini was a Prisoner of War (POW) during World War 2 after his plane crashed into the ocean and he was captured by the Japanese. For years he suffered in camps run by the Japanese, struggling with hard work, little food, and constant tormenting from the soldiers and officials.

He survived the POW camps and returned to the United States. However, he was still haunted by his experiences at the camp. He had trouble sleeping at night without nightmares and turned to alcohol to help push them away.

His wife, Cynthia, got to the point of demanding a divorce when he couldn’t seem to stop his nightmares and problems.

Then, one night, Cynthia came home from an event she had gone to with a friend and told Zamperini she no longer wanted a divorce. He was shocked and confused, what had happened?

Cynthia had been to a Billy Graham Crusade and had decided to forgive Zamperini, and she soon prodded him to come to one of the Crusades as well. He was reluctant, and the first time he went, he left before it ended. The second time he went, however, everything changed.

That night after the Crusade, Zamperini accepted Jesus into his life. He went home and poured out all of his alcohol and went to bed. For the first time in years, he slept without nightmares. He was no longer tormented by memories of cruel soldiers. He knew Jesus had forgiven him and he could live as a changed man.

Zamperini went on to preach to the Japanese, several of them were soldiers who had hurt him when he was a prisoner, and he forgave them. Zamperini found peace because he heard of what Jesus did on the cross.

Peace In Other Things

We don’t have to have been through a series of traumatic events like Zamperini was to experience peace. Just knowing the Gospel can give us peace.

Paul lists out the armor of God in Ephesians 6. In those verses, He says that,

And, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:15

Wynter Pitts has some more great words in her book, God’s Girl Says Yes,

It doesn’t matter how big or small your problem is. When you feel yourself starting to worry about something, pray and ask God to help you experience His peace.

Wynter Pitts, God’s Girl Says Yes

In Philippians Paul also says,

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:5-7

Since Jesus was the Ultimate Sacrifice and paid for our sins, we can be with God. And because we know this, we can have peace and trust Him with anything and everything.

The Song 

Here’s a song that relates to our topic today. 

The Challenge

Our challenge in response to this is to cast all our worries, anxieties, and fears on Him whenever we need to. This probably sounds a lot like last week’s challenge, but that’s okay! I struggle with praying consistently so having another prayer challenge won’t hurt.

Here are some prayer poins:

1. Thank Jesus for what He did and how we can have peace in Him.
2. Pray about your worries and fears.
3. Finally, close with thanking Him for what you and your family have been blessed with.

Short Announcement

Before I end this post, I wanted to let you guys know that I will be taking a short break from posting from this point until mid-September. However, there will be a new podcast episode on James coming out for Sisters In Christ soon!

Final Thoughts

Thank you for reading today’s article about peace! I hope you enjoyed and were encouraged. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to my email list to receive three exclusive articles, notifications when I post on the blog, and my monthly newsletter!

Have a blessed day,

~Caroline