Peace And Praise!

October 22, 2026

Peace And Praise!

We are an anxious people! We are worried and hurried and apprehensive. We are nervous and fretful and afraid.

We are an anxious people! We are restless and uneasy and troubled. We are on edge and unsettled and uptight.

We are an anxious people! We are distracted and distressed and disturbed. We are jittery and twitchy and fidgety.

We are an anxious people!

Anxious people find it difficult to be still. Anxious people find it difficult to rest. Anxious people find it difficult to stay focused on important things. Anxious people find it difficult to experience inner peace. Anxious people find it difficult to offer words of praise.

Deep inside we long for something different than being an anxious person. In Romans 15:13 the Apostle Paul pronounces a blessing of God’s peace on those who love the Lord. Paul writes; “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Paul is clear that God is the source of our inner peace. And, Paul is clear that our inner peace is a gift from the Lord when we choose to trust in Him. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of peace in the heart of the person who trusts in the Lord with all their heart, mind, and soul.

In his letter to the church in first century Colossae, the Apostle Paul calls Christ-followers to let the peace of Christ “rule” in our hearts. In Colossians 3:15 the Apostle Paul writes; “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”

You get to choose what will rule in your heart. You can choose to let anxiety or fretfulness or worry or fear or restlessness or distraction rule your heart. Or, you can choose to let the peace of God which flows out of your love for and faith in Jesus rule your heart.

When we are anxious, we are choosing to rely upon and place our faith in our own strength and wisdom and provision. When we are filled with the peace of God, we are choosing to rely upon and place our faith in the strength and wisdom and provision of Christ.

Paul encourages us to choose to let the peace of Christ rule in our heart. He says we are “called” to have our hearts filled with the peace of Christ. This calling is what the Lord God wants for us; a heart that is so at peace with Christ that we are able to be still enough to focus on Jesus as our Savior and as our Lord.

In Psalm 46:10 we hear; “Be still, and know that I am God!” The Psalmist knew that it is very difficult to know the Lord, to be attentive to the Lord, and to be in the holy presence of the Lord when we are an anxious person. I am able to be still in the presence of the Lord when my heart is filled with and ruled by the peace of Christ.

Is your heart being ruled by fretfulness or worry or fear today? Is your heart being ruled by a distraction or a distress or a disturbance today? Is your heart being ruled by restlessness or unsettledness or hurriedness today?

Maybe it is time to let something different rule your heart!

+Ask the Holy Spirit to calm you down, slow you down, and settle you down today.

+Ask Jesus to take away your fear, your fretfulness, and your anxiousness today.

+Ask your Heavenly Father to fill your heart with the peace of Christ, the love of Christ, and the joy of Christ.

No matter what is stirring up your mind or troubling your heart or leaving your soul thirsty, take a few moments to be still and know the Lord. Choose this day to let the peace of Christ rule in your heart and then give your praise to Jesus for His tender mercy, His amazing love, and His abundant grace.

As you let the peace of Christ chase away all your anxiety, your heart will overflow with delight rather than more restlessness.

Take Delight In The Lord!

Doug