“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”
Col. 3:15; NASB

 Think about this for a minute. Do you let the peace of Christ rule in your heart? If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, His peace is already in your heart waiting for you to allow it to give you rest. There are some things that we all need to consider if we want to experience His peace in our everyday lives.

Paul gives us a list of some things to consider. Things such as immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which he mentions is vs.5) are all based on selfishness. He tells us to consider them as dead to the members of our earthly bodies. Selfishness is the root of much of our discontent in life. It’s not easy to put our own desires aside. For instance, seeing a coworker promoted when you think you should have gotten the promotion can cause everything from anger to envy. These emotions can negatively affect your feelings toward your boss and the person promoted while giving you cause for ungratefulness. These are certainly not Godly emotions and will only cause unrest. If you were to set your mind on the things above, and not on earthly things (Col. 3:2) you would choose to be thankful for where God has you and wish the best for the one promoted.

As Christians we have the love of God in our hearts, but we also have the choice of whether or not to allow that love to comfort us. When we allow wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech to overtake us it will cause discontent and unhappiness not only in ourselves, but in those around us as well. Love is the “perfect bond of unity” (vs. 14) that brings us closer to God while giving us peace in times of hardship. It can bring you through those times in life when things seem unfair and will bring you joy instead of anguish.

Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts is a choice. One that we should choose over every emotion that comes along to take that peace. Choosing to let go of the selfish thoughts will open a path to His peace. It comes from choosing to love in times when things don’t go your way. It’s not easy, but the rewards are incredible.

Have a great week and God bless.