Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Henry Blackaby
Devotional: 5 Christian Ways to Cultivate Inner Peace in a Turbulent World
Make no mistake about it, we live in a turbulent world. There are all sorts of conflicts, war, diseases, heartbreak, disappointment, you name it. In fact, you don’t even have to look far to see all that can go wrong. In fact, in your relationships there are probably a lot of situations where people are unhappy and things could definitely use some improvement.
It’s very easy for people and not just Christians to let their external world really shape their internal world and let circumstances defeat as. But If you want to be a great Christian witness, you have to walk in peace. This is a tall order.
The good and bad news is that you can’t do it on your own strength. You have to tap into the power of Jesus Christ. The Bible is clear: You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.
Here are five Christian ways to cultivate inner peace in a turbulent world:
Focus on Jesus’ Word
The Bible is God’s love letter to humanity. That’s the most accurate way to describe the Bible. It’s not an empty collection of fables or empty record of things that happened thousands of years ago.
The Bible speaks truth, and most importantly, it points to Jesus Christ and what Jesus wants to do in your life. By abiding in Jesus’ word every single day, you give yourself an opportunity to drink in the meaning of those words. The more you read the Bible, the more meaningful it becomes. As our Lord and Savior said, “Man does not live by bread alone but we live based on God’s word.” So help yourself to a daily serving of that word.
Meditate on Jesus’ life
It’s very easy to read the Bible very quickly. In fact, you can read the Bible like you would a novel, but that really misses the point. The whole point of the Bible is to point to Jesus Christ and what his plan is. Not just for your life but for the world around you in your day and time.
This is why it’s very important to meditate on what you read. Meditate on how the scripture that you read reflects Jesus’ life and Jesus’ mission.
Pray for the peacefulness of the Holy Spirit
When you focus and meditate on Jesus’ word and life, this brings peacefulness. You get a sense of reassurance that regardless of what’s happening around you, there is meaning and that meaning can be traced to Jesus.
In addition to reading the Word and meditating on it, pray that God sends the Holy Spirit into your heart and that your heart bears the fruit of peacefulness mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the Book of Galatians. One of the true signs that a person is truly converted is inner peace. Pray for that inner peace because God will, according to the Book of James, give it to you freely.
Pray in silence more often
Most Christians often pray in one direction. They keep asking God for strength, things, or health. It seems like it’s a one-directional conversation. You might want to take a break from all that and just pray in silence. By praying in silence, you basically visualize Jesus Christ in your heart and just open the gateway and your emotional state to his peace.
This can fill you with a deep, reassuring, and confidence building peace that doesn’t have to involve you talking. It’s just basically soaking up God’s presence in your life. The best relationships are often mature enough that the partners in the relationship can just spend time together without saying a word, and it could result in very meaningful communication.
Let the small still voice lead you
One of the most powerful ways to gain a sense of inner peace is when we understand that in many circumstances, we can only get that inner peace and calm when we let that small still voice the Bible talks about lead us. That small little voice will not be perceptible if we continue to talk over it or we try to deny it.
Being a true Christian, the Bible is clear: When all the distractions are gone and you really give yourself permission to listen to God, there will be a small still voice in the center of your being. Are you ready to listen to that voice and let it lead you?
