True Peace
"It is the love of self that destroys our peace. While self is alive, we stand ready continually to guard it from mortification and insult; but when self is dead, and our life hid with Christ in God, we shall not take neglects or slights to heart. We shall be deaf to reproach, and blind to scorn and insult."
-The Signs of the Times (December 27, 1905)
What a powerful quote, and oh what great implications it has for our lives. It took being in a relationship to show me just how much I love "self". When self sits on the throne, life is a chaotic mess because you spend all your time and energy trying to keep "self" from being hurt or slighted. Every little hurtful word is enough for your whole kingdom to crumble. Oh what a sad life to live! Yet how often do we find ourselves giving up our peace and happiness in order to protect the very thing that is on a mission to destroy us...
The love of self not only destroys peace, but it also destroys relationships. As long as two people are too busy trying to keep "self" from pain or insult, there is no way a relationship can thrive. I unfortunately had to learn this the hard way...As long as you are so caught up with your own needs and desires, you lose your ability to give of yourself to the one you love. The love of self has a hypnotizing power, that makes you shift your focus from what truly matters to your own selfish whims and desires.
So what is the remedy? Well, let me share another quote from the same article:
"Sin has destroyed our peace. While self is unsubdued we find no rest. The masterful passions of the heart no human power can control. We are as helpless here as were the disciples to quiet the raging storm. But He who spoke pace to the billows of Galilee, has spoken the word of peace for every soul. However fierce the tempest, those who turn to Jesus with the cry, "Lord save us", will find deliverance. His grace, which reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and in His love the heart is at rest. "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven."
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
Jesus alone can help us win the battle. It is a daily battle, and we can only overcome by submitting to Jesus every moment of every day. But the victory we can gain through Him is well worth the fight. The peace that passes all understanding is to be ours, and I don't know about you, but I am willing to give up everything for that peace.
May today be a day of peace. May Jesus sit on the throne of our hearts, and may self be crucified with Him.
-The Signs of the Times (December 27, 1905)
What a powerful quote, and oh what great implications it has for our lives. It took being in a relationship to show me just how much I love "self". When self sits on the throne, life is a chaotic mess because you spend all your time and energy trying to keep "self" from being hurt or slighted. Every little hurtful word is enough for your whole kingdom to crumble. Oh what a sad life to live! Yet how often do we find ourselves giving up our peace and happiness in order to protect the very thing that is on a mission to destroy us...
The love of self not only destroys peace, but it also destroys relationships. As long as two people are too busy trying to keep "self" from pain or insult, there is no way a relationship can thrive. I unfortunately had to learn this the hard way...As long as you are so caught up with your own needs and desires, you lose your ability to give of yourself to the one you love. The love of self has a hypnotizing power, that makes you shift your focus from what truly matters to your own selfish whims and desires.
So what is the remedy? Well, let me share another quote from the same article:
"Sin has destroyed our peace. While self is unsubdued we find no rest. The masterful passions of the heart no human power can control. We are as helpless here as were the disciples to quiet the raging storm. But He who spoke pace to the billows of Galilee, has spoken the word of peace for every soul. However fierce the tempest, those who turn to Jesus with the cry, "Lord save us", will find deliverance. His grace, which reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife of human passion, and in His love the heart is at rest. "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so He bringeth them unto their desired haven."
"Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever."
Jesus alone can help us win the battle. It is a daily battle, and we can only overcome by submitting to Jesus every moment of every day. But the victory we can gain through Him is well worth the fight. The peace that passes all understanding is to be ours, and I don't know about you, but I am willing to give up everything for that peace.
May today be a day of peace. May Jesus sit on the throne of our hearts, and may self be crucified with Him.
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