This is the third installment of my nine-month series on The Fruit of the Spirit and its cultivation in our lives. With each post I’ll be including a free embroidery pattern download featuring the month’s topic.
“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
This month we will look at Peace.
What comes to your mind when you think of peace? Do you think of an idyllic setting of mountains with a stream running nearby, a calm summer night with the frogs chirping in the distance, the waves of the ocean breaking softly on the beach?
Or maybe you are thinking of times when your children are playing sweetly together or when the baby is sleeping and has melted in your arms. Moments like that bring a sense of peace and calm and are a blessing from the Lord.
What about when things are not so peaceful? Much of life is messy, noisy, busy, scary, and not so beautiful. We can get ourselves all worked up over our situations and “imagined” situations and not even remember what peace is.
True peace comes only from God. We can have peace in the midst of our messy lives. God’s word tells us how us how to know true peace through Jesus Christ. If you have never experienced true peace through Jesus Christ, I encourage you to seek Him, this link explains the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What if you do have a relationship with Jesus Christ, but life seems to just be out of control, too messy to think straight, maybe your fears and anxieties control your thoughts?
God’s word gives us a beautiful answer to that question. It is found in Philippians 4:4-7:
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
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 Christ Jesus.”
Rejoice: There are many passages in God’s word that speak about rejoicing in the Lord and in His salvation. Rejoicing in the Lord’s salvation can change your perspective on things very quickly!
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone: Reasonableness is keeping a calmness and a steadfastness. Don’t let yourself be emotionally driven or you will find yourself going up and down like a roller coaster all day long. It will make you and everyone around you exhausted and nauseated. Remember the saying “keep an even keel”? The keel is the bottom of a boat that extends down into the water. It is weighted — it keeps the boat level and steady in the water.
The Lord is at hand: Remember the Lord is ever present with us.
Do not be anxious about anything: Let us put our trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding.
Bring everything to prayer with thanksgiving: It may seem hard or impossible to bring everything to the Lord with thanksgiving, but we can do all things through Him.
As we put all these commands in practice, God’s word tell us that the peace of God — which surpasses all understanding — will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus!
Free “PEACE” Embroidery Pattern
As an extra way to remember to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, we’ve created a free embroidery pattern from Clementine Patterns – just for you! This pattern makes for a great mother-daughter project. Plus, each month we’ll be offering a free pattern that directly ties in with the fruit of the Spirit for that month.
This month’s pattern features several graphics for Peace. Download the pattern for free by clicking here and embroider your own version of “Peace” for your home and family! (For personal use only. This PDF pattern is available for free download for two weeks – now through June 9th.) UPDATE: Now available here!
May your days be filled with peace!