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Thinking about the fruit of the Spirit being the character of God.
The third thought is one of peace. This is about the deep inner sense of well-being, or not being at war on the inside. The jewish word 'shalom' is defined as:
Shalom(Hebrew: שָׁלוֹםshalom; also spelled as sholom, sholem, sholoim, shulem) is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility.
Good to think of God as one who is at peace with himself, comfortable in who he is, not trying to prove himself, but a trinity in harmony of character and purpose.
we really need to be at peace with ourselves in order to be present for other people, to be able to listen and focus upon them, if we are not then we bring all our tension to the relationship. God's intention is that we should know a deep sense of peace. This is not just peace with God through the gift of his forgiveness, as wonderful as that is, but also, the peace of God, his peace with in us, enabling us to cope.
In our Bible Study series with Max Lucado on 'being anxious for nothing'
we focused on Phil 4: 4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Recognising that thanksgiving, prayer (handing things over to God), choosing to think faith- fully rather than fearfully were things we can do which allows God to pour his peace in our hearts even in stressful and challenging times.
May we all know the gift of his peace in these days, may we know the God's life richly flowing within us
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