TODAY’S DAILY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE
Peace in Relationships
One of the aspects of life that has the greatest potential to disturb our peace in the Holy Spirit is the way we interact with other people. Our lives are all affected by one another in some way, shape, or form. When I put my faith in another person and they let me down, it has the potential to have a significant impact on my situation. If I truly care about someone and they hurt me, ignore me, or reject me, it will undoubtedly make it more difficult for me to experience the peace that God offers. However, we can have peace in spite of our circumstances because God is with us. Jesus was able to keep the peace in the Holy Spirit despite the fact that those whom he loved were yelling, “Crucify him!” (Luke 23:21). I pray that the Lord guides us today onto the road that leads to unending peace that is based on his love and truth.
The passage in Colossians 3:12-15 lays out a plan for achieving a profound and enduring peace in our interpersonal relationships.
The decision to let go of one’s attachment to oneself is the first step toward finding peace with other people. Nobody can be forced to do anything against their will. Every person possesses the capacity and the will to either love us or to reject us. Even those who believe in you will fail you repeatedly. You can be sure that people won’t accept you if the people of God were able to stand in the presence of God incarnate and shout, “Crucify him.” You will experience what Christians refer to as the “peace of Christ” when you make the decision to continually humble yourself in front of other people and serve (Colossians 3:15). When we decide, regardless of the actions of others, to put on “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” we put ourselves in a position to continually bear the fruit of peace (Colossians 3:12).