Fruitful Living
Finding peace in God
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7
INTRODUCTION
Peace with God is an outcome of our oneness with God. In simple terms, if you don’t know God you cannot have God’s peace. Most of Paul’s letters began with the words “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace is a state of tranquillity or quietness of spirit that transcends circumstances. The term peace is described in Scripture as a gift from God and congruent with His character; ‘May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’- 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
1. Psalm 4:8 – “In peace I will lay down and sleep; for you alone Lord make me dwell in safety”. This is one of the Psalms of David and it is said that he wrote it during a time of great distress maybe during the time that Saul was pursuing him all over the place even though he had done him no wrong.
It could also have been after his own son Absalom betrayed him in 2 Samuel 15-18 or even maybe during one of the rebellions. Whatever it was, David, who had this close relationship with God said confidently ‘in peace I will lay down and sleep for you alone Lord make me dwell in safety.’ Now remember David did not say it at a time when he was lying in his palace with victory all around him but rather when he was in distress and this is the attitude that we should adopt. Trust in God that He would be there with us regardless of the situation hence the need to also take stock of life situations.
Some of us of course have never experienced any serious difficulties and we thank the Lord for that. Whatever the case maybe though, when we have a close relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we will experience His peace.
2. The hymn ‘Turn Your Eyes on Jesus’ says: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face and the things of this earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. Unshakable peace is available to us but, when we can only access it when we decide to focus on God. When difficult situations emerge, the natural instinct is either to panic or to be filled with adrenaline which is wanting to solve the problem immediately. However, while these are things that God has put in our hearts the one who has the staying power is the one who remembers that it is God who is in control of all things and not us.
So, what should we do?
Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:6-7 – ‘do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.’
- In times of difficulties as well times of everything which is the opposite of peace, the first thing that we need to do is to turn to prayer. We turn to prayer because we know God is in control of the situation.
- We decide to trust God’s timetable, yes God has a timetable for each and everyone of us.
3. I think we need to know a few things about God’s peace.
a. God’s peace is unshakable because there has never been or will there ever be a time or an event which distresses or disturbs God.
b. God is never perturbed. Tranquillity is actually a nature of God and it’s from tranquillity that we get the word peace.
c. God’s peace and His presence is sure, they are immoveable and we can only find ourselves overcoming these difficulties when we focus on God.
d. We must keep our relationship with God intact all the time. When our relationship with God gets disturbed a little bit just because we have sinned or maybe when we have told a lie about somebody else, or even maybe we did something against somebody and there’s a stirring in our hearts, we need to apologise. We need to ask God for forgiveness. God has made this available for us. 1 John 1: 8 clearly states that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
The verse 9 goes ahead to say that ‘if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness.’ God is always ready to forgive us our sins so we should not let anything that God does not like stand in our way of enjoying God’s peace. This means that confessing our sins all the time clears us of a sense of guilt and a sense of weight and inability to enjoy God’s peace.
e.Whenever we are in the greatest difficulties, that is when we experience God’s loving peace the most. David in Psalm 4:8 teaches us that ‘In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.’ God’s peace is different from the world’s peace – John 14:27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. True peace is not found in positive thinking, in absence of conflict, or in good feelings. It comes from knowing that God is in control.
f. When we are confronted with trials and tribulations the safest place to run to is the everlastingly arms of God. In Johnchapter 20:19, after the crucifixion, the first word Jesus utters to the disciples is ‘Peace be with you’. Jesus was speaking about God’s peace. His immovable eternal peace, which nothing at all can shake.
CONCLUSION
Are we troubled? Are we going through a patch of difficulties? Let’s turn our eyes upon Jesus, look fully in His wonderful face and the things of this earth that are troubling us will grow strangely dim in the light of God’s glory and grace.
Remember Jesus’s words in the midst of greatest trial: Shalom, Peace, be with you.
Let’s allow God’s peace to invade our hearts today and tell God all about how we are feeling in relation to Philippians 4:6-7 which says we should turn our problems into a prayer. This peace is a nature of our saviour Jesus Christ and He assures us that He pours this peace over us unconditionally. He keeps His promise so let’s stand by Him and take His word and enjoy the peace of God.
Stay blessed!
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By Dr. Joyce Aryee, the author
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, to all who believe. For there is no difference.” — Rom. 3:10, 21–22 (NIV)
INTRODUCTION
We bring you this week the concluding part of “A Righteousness Revolution,” published last week. For ease of reference, we recap the last paragraph of last week’s article. Please enjoy and pass it on!
THE GOAL OF THIS TRANSFORMATION
What is the goal of this metamorphosis? Scripture states it in a number of different ways, which overlap and can be seen as different ways of expressing the same basic concept. Scripture often does this because our minds are inadequate to comprehend, and our language inadequate to express, the full scope of God’s revelation to us.
TO BECOME LIKE GOD IN CHARACTER
The whole concept can be summed up in the simple and astonishing statement that we are to become like God. Not like God in power; we can never aspire to that, although we can move in much greater power than many Christians have ever imagined. But like God in character.
We are to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” — Eph. 5:24; the “new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” — Col. 3:10. “We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” — 2 Cor. 3:18. “When He appears we shall be like Him” — 1 John 3:2. We are to “participate in the divine nature” — 2 Pet. 1:4. We can have “the mind of Christ” — 1 Cor. 2:16; Phil. 2:5. (Emphasis added in each case.)
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God — Gen. 1:26. With Adam’s Fall, much of that image was lost. But with Christ’s sacrifice for us, those who accept Him as Lord and Saviour can be restored into God’s image.
“Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [the first Adam], so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [the second Adam, Jesus Christ]” — 1 Cor. 15:49.
Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father” — John 14:12.
We think of this (if we dare think of it at all) as meaning that we can heal, cast out demons and even raise people from the dead. It does mean that, and people who have faith in Jesus Christ are doing that now. But does it not mean more?
Jesus said that He did only what He saw the Father doing and spoke only the words the Father gave Him. Can we, should we, expect to do the same? He said, “I and the Father are one.” Can we expect this for ourselves? He said, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father” — John 14:9. Can this be said of us?
Paul told the Corinthians that they were “clearly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” — 2 Cor. 3:3 (NKJV).
Is this not part of what it means to “be” His witness — Acts 1:8 — so that people can look at us and see Christ? We are to be witnesses by who we are, not just what we say. Jesus expects that there will be something different about us, that people will be able to look at us and know that we are His disciples — John 13:35.
He said of His disciples, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” — John 17:16.
His demands are to imitate and model Christ’s behaviour and to be clear reflections of the Lord — Matthew 5:16.
ESTABLISHING OUR ATTITUDE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Writing from a prison cell in Rome, the apostle Paul wrote about the attitude a Christian should have: “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” — Philippians 1:27.
He is telling us that no matter what unexpected disruptions, frustrations or difficulties come our way, we are to respond with a Christ-like attitude.
Paul later writes, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ” — Philippians 2:5. He also encourages us in Ephesians 5:1 to be “imitators of Christ as dearly beloved children.”
As children love to imitate what they see and repeat what they hear, we also are charged to imitate and model Christ’s behaviour and to be clear reflections of the Lord.
Jesus maintained a perfect attitude in every situation because He prayed about everything and worried about nothing. We, too, should seek God’s guidance about every aspect of our lives and allow Him to work out His perfect will without interference.
Jesus’ attitude was never to become defensive, discouraged or depressed because His goal was to please the Father rather than to achieve His own agenda.
In the midst of trials, He was patient. In the midst of suffering, He was hopeful. In the midst of blessing, He was humble. Even in the midst of ridicule, abuse and hostility, He “made no threats . . . and did not retaliate. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” — 1 Peter 2:23.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS: LOVING MUHAMMAD MEANS FOLLOWING MUHAMMAD
We say: “We love the Prophet.”
Alhamdulillah.
But the real test of love is not how loudly we shout when someone insults him.
The real test is: Do we behave as he behaved?
Allah says: “Indeed, you are surely of outstanding character.” (Qur’an 68:4)
And Allah says: “Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example.” (Qur’an 33:21)
Therefore, if we claim to defend Muhammad (pbuh) but abandon his patience, mercy, justice and wisdom, we must ask ourselves:
Are we really defending him or are we betraying his example?
AN INSULT DOES NOT MAKE A PRIVATE PERSON A JUDGE AND EXECUTIONER
This point must be understood clearly.
Islam has laws concerning crimes.
Islam has courts.
Islam has legitimate authority.
Islam does not turn every angry individual into judge, jury and executioner.
The Qur’an says: “O believers! Stand firm for justice.” (Qur’an 4:135)
And the Prophet gave severe warnings against unlawful killing.
He said: “Whoever kills a person under covenant will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 3166)
Therefore, no Muslim should stand in a mosque and mobilize ordinary people to kill another person because of an insult.
That is not prophetic leadership.
That is not emotional courage.
That is not the Sunnah.
And it is certainly not a license for vigilantism.
If an offence has been committed, report it.
If a crime has been committed, let the competent authorities investigate it.
If punishment is legally warranted, let lawful judicial institutions determine it.
The Ghana Police Service has itself reminded religious leaders and the public that freedom of religion or expression cannot be used to justify inciting violence or encouraging people to harm others.
For Muslims, this is not merely a question of Ghanaian law.
It is also a question of taqwā (fear of Allah).
THE PROPHET TAUGHT US HOW TO SPEAK
Allah says: “Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in the best manner.” (Qur’an 16:125)
This is the Islamic methodology of da’wah:
Wisdom.
Good counsel.
Best argument.
Not abuse.
Not threats.
Not mob action.
Not revenge.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN SOMEONE INSULTS THE PROPHET MOHAMMED (PBUH)?
Servants of Allah, remember these SEVEN STEPS.
1. PAUSE
Do not react while you are angry.
Allah praises those: “Those who restrain anger and pardon people.” (Qur’an 3:134)
2. VERIFY
Do not forward every video.
Do not believe every audio.
Do not react to an edited clip without knowing the context.
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Allah says: “Then verify.” (Qur’an 49:6)
3. DO NOT RETALIATE WITH AN INSULT
Remember Qur’an 6:108.
We do not insult Jesus (Peace be upon him).
We do not insult Christianity.
We do not insult churches.
We do not insult the Bible.
We can disagree theologically while remaining respectful.
The author is the chief Imam of katamanso Municipal and Certified Counsellor and Governance Exper
