Let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts
Colossians 3:15
This may be the most helpful week of our study. Have you ever wanted to know what God wants you to do? This week will help us answer – generally and specifically – what God’s will is for us in our lives.
Today starts with a powerful principle and a powerful warning.
The word “rule” in this passage from Colossians means “to referee.” If you’re debating two or three good options, one way to decide is to “let the peace of Christ referee.” Stop. Pray. And see which option brings the most peace. True peace. Godly peace.
This is a powerful principle. It’s also a very dangerous principle. It’s totally subjective. We can totally abuse this principle by practicing wish-fulfillment. If my conscience isn’t loud enough, for example, I am capable of doing whatever I want and saying, “Well it makes me happy and brings me peace.”
See the danger?
A friend came to me last week. After a long history of bad decisions, they were about to make their next major decision in life. They said to me, “I don’t like any of the other options, but whenever I think about Option C, I feel so good inside.”
I said, “Of course, Options A and B make you feel rotten -- they require sacrifice! They require you to fix the destructive patterns that have led you into this same hole for the fifteenth time in the last five years! For these five reasons (and I pulled out the first five scriptures I could think of that voted against Option C), I’m pretty certain – in spite of your warm fuzzy feelings – that God is not calling you to Option C.”
Do you see how that works? A feeling of peace can help, but only after you’ve checked it out with God’s word and the counsel of godly friends. That – and more – is what this week’s lessons will teach us: How to use the full counsel of God to better discern God’s will for your life.
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who wants
the full counsel of God
to referee
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