He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near (Ephesians 2:17 TNIV).
Near or far, the message is peace. That is God’s will for our lives – to live in peace. Interestingly enough, however, it takes great battles and waging war to attain the peace that God desires for us. The reason is because we have two opposing natures – the flesh and the spirit and the Bible tells us that they are at war with one another.
Paul’s own struggle so accurately describes the tension that exists in the life of every serious disciple:
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me (Romans 7:18-20 NKJV).
As believers, we will also face the battle that Christ Himself faced in the Garden of Gethsemane – the battle of “not my will, but your will be done.” Paul tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” because only as we do, can we ever expect to have the peace in which God desires we walk.
Paul gives the key to winning the battle to the Galatians in Chapter 5, verse 16:
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Lord, today I pray you fill me with your Spirit so that I will not fulfill the lust of my flesh and I can walk in your perfect peace.
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