“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” Matthew 7:18-20
We are living in a dark world. We need the lamp of the Word of God to shine light on our circumstances so we can understand how to handle them. The Word of God will pull us through difficult situations. The Word of God created everything that is seen and unseen, and it is living and powerful.
- Hebrews 4:12 New King James Version – For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
By reading the Word of God we begin to learn about the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which describes the character of God. We cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit from our flesh. It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to develop these characteristics in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit help us to look like and act like our Heavenly Father.
- Galatians 5:22-23 New King James Version – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
One of the most beneficial fruit of the Spirit is peace. Jesus had peace even in the middle of a storm. Jesus gave us His peace so we too can have peace in these stormy times.
- John 14:27 New King James Version – Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is so different from what the world has that if we have the fruit of the Spirit operating in our lives, people will know we are Christians by our behavior. The fruit of the flesh or the worldly person are obvious too.
- Galatians 5:19-21 New King James Version – 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Our perspective of our situation can rob us of our peace. If we have the wrong focus, we will succumb to every disturbance the enemy throws our way. We shouldn’t meditate on our problems, we should keep our minds on the Word of God and His promises. If we keep our focus on the LORD, who is all-powerful, we can stay at perfect peace no matter what comes our way.
- Isaiah 26:3 New King James Version – You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
Peace is not the absence of conflict, but it is a state of well-being that comes from God. Peace originates from God and His will for your life. We can have peace right in the middle of conflict. Even when a situation doesn’t look good from the outside, if we know we are in the will of God, we can stay at peace. Peace according to the Bible, means completeness, soundness, welfare, quiet, tranquility, contentment, and friendship with God.
Our duty is to keep our mind on God and trust Him. We can bring physical fatigue and mental fatigue on ourselves because of a lack of peace. When we believe what God has promised, we are at peace. A lack of peace is a sign of unbelief. We can put our faith in God or we can put our faith in worry.
We have to be watchful over our peace. It is our job to choose peace and stay in peace.
- Matthew 26:41 New King James Version – Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
If we want to stay in peace, we will have to fight for it. Jesus gave us His peace, but the enemy is not going let us just have it unchallenged. We must fight in the Spirit using the Word of God as our weapon to protect our peace.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 New King James Version