April 10 – A Heart At Peace

“A heart at peace gives life to the body.”(Proverbs 14:30)

IN WORD:
The relationship between the spirit and the body is deeper than we might think. Not all physical infirmity is a product of spiritual turmoil, but much of it is. When God is on the periphery of our lives, our bodies can’t stand the void. Ask anyone who has heart trouble. Stress is often a big part of it. And stress is the result of a too-distant God.
Peace has prerequisites. One of them is a surrender of all the self’s attempts to earn God’s approval. Instead, we are to understand that God approves of Jesus and we are related to Jesus by faith. Another is an inspired ability to trust God, even when circumstances seem to dictate against trust. But there is one often assumed prerequisite to peace that is a decidedly misguided assumption. Peace is not dependent on circumstances. Not real peace, anyway. The real peace that comes from God is available in spite of circumstances. And it is often revealed only in the difficult times. We never know the truth of our relationship with God until it is burned in the fire. Does it remain? Then it is gold; it is true. Or does it collapse? Then it was combustible from the very beginning, worth nothing at all. Peace from God must be tested. If it isn’t, we never know whether it’s genuine or not.

IN DEED:
We human beings are a strange mixture of mind, body, and spirit. We like to think of these as separable entities, but they are not. They interrelate at levels we can scarcely understand. Sin has physical effects. Mental stress has physical effects. And a heart at peace gives life.
Whatever you are going through — and it is a safe assumption that we are always going through something — it is not to affect your peace. God is above your circumstances, and He is greater than your sin. Bring it all to Him — your sin, your trials, your everything. Bind yourself to the things that really matter and the One who can govern them. And rest. Be at peace and be well.

“Peace rules the day when Christ rules the mind.”
-Anonymous-