Peace amid the Conflict of our Soul

 A good friend posed the question about how we could have peace, how we could experience the lying down in green pastures, the refreshing waters, and the refreshing of the soul found in Psalms 23 when we have this war between the spirit and the flesh? Paul also experienced this anxiety, expressed in Romans 7:15 when he wrote that he didn't do what he wanted to do, but did what he hated. He continued writing about this battle between the flesh and the spirit with him and concluded with; "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Romans 7:24-25) John 16:33 records Jesus saying; "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We know that there will be internal and external strife for us to deal with - we deal with either by turning to Jesus - surrendering to Him, living for Him, focusing on Him.

Our church has begun an initiative to "behold" God for 21 days - to not just focus on Him, but to truly see Him for who He is. To behold is to fix our attention upon the Lord; to attend; to direct or fix the mind on Him. Our rest, our peace only comes from the Lord - we can only experience serenity of Psalms 23 through the Lord. We first must have peace with God; that comes through surrendering our lives to Him and living for Him. Then we can have the peace of God; this entails trusting in Him, focusing on Him and day by day - sometimes moment by moment acknowledging Jesus and giving Him whatever situation we are facing; whether it is temptation, internal conflict, or external troubles. Finally, we can experience peace with the world because we have the peace of God. We can experience the serenity of Psalms 23 through all the chaos we experience in our soul and in the world. 

Matthew 11:29 records Jesus saying that we are to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him - then we will find rest. The picture here is of how oxen are trained by yoking an inexperienced ox to an older, experienced ox. The yoke keeps the two oxen tied together and the younger ox "learns" by literally having to do whatever the older ox does. In this same way, Christ wants us to learn from Him and learn to live a spirit controlled life by walking closely with Him. Jesus experienced all the turmoil we face and more; yet, He remained focused on the Father and His purpose for His life. We must pull away from the busyness of life and stop and focus on the Lord as Jesus did - prayer, worship, and fellowship with believers will help us enter into His peace.

Division: Separation by difference of opinion or feeling; disagreement; dissension.

      Yes, there is division in our world today - in our nation - in our churches - in our families - in our marriages. Through this season of pandemic, we have done a lot of counseling. Couples are at home together, but experiencing division, often because they are not accustomed to having that much time together. There are reports of increased marital strife and even domestic violence due to couples and families being “cooped up together.” Brothers and sisters, this should not be so!
     God’s plan for marriage is for two very different people to come together in the oneness of the marriage relationship. God’s plan is for marriage to be an earthly representation of the oneness, closeness, and unity seen in the very nature of our God. The Bible speaks of unity among the family (biological and church) from beginning to end. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, Paul appeals for unity among believers. He wrote to Titus (Titus 3:9-11), that Titus was to warn the person who stirred up division and if they didn’t quit, he shouldn’t have anything to do with that person. Remember, peace is not the absence of conflict, it is resolving conflict in peaceful ways. God commands unity in marriage and in the church.
     Satan sows division - he wants to see couples, families, churches, and even the nation in terrible times of upheaval and division. He has been doing a really good job of egging on the division in today’s environment! The question is, “are we going to allow Satan to divide us? Or are we going to stand firm in the Spirit and work through the problems we face together - even growing through the adversity we face. It is really our choice; the prophet, Amos asked, ‘Can two walk together unless they have agreed?’  The Lord will empower us to work through our differences, but we must make the choice to work together rather than allowing differences to cause division and even ruin our relationships.
     What are you doing? Are you sowing division or involved in divisive conversations? If so, please see Romans 16:17-18 and Proverbs 6:16-19 - the Word of God speaks quite strongly against divisiveness. Are you growing in unity in your marriage? Or are you allowing division to tear your marriage down - even tear it apart? Yes, we must stand for truth, but God calls us to be ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20). He desires that we seek unity in our marriage, family, church, and our nation - be an ambassador of reconciliation.

See also: Spirit of Cooperation vs. Division in Marriage  by Gary Emery  
                www.emerycounseling.com/spirit-of-cooperation-vs-division-in-marriage-gary-emery