Peace Ship

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called . . . and be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

A newspaper article once read, “Abie Nathan is leading a new children’s crusade! Nathan, who operates a pirate radio station aboard his ‘Peace Ship’ in the Mediterranean, has promised to give a scroll with the biblical quotation from Isaiah, ‘And they shall not learn war any more . . .,’ to any child who smashes his military toys. He has also offered to buy the complete stock of war toys from any store which agrees not to sell them in the future.”

While people may disagree about the best way to bring about world peace, most would agree that this man’s idea, though optimistic, is not the way to go. In the same way, the world’s ideas about finding peace, such as generating more income or exploring various religions, simply do not work.

The Bible tells us that the key to peace is a thankful heart in the midst of trials: being thankful that we have a loving and caring God, thankful that He will never leave us nor forsake us, thankful that God is in control. So instead of trying to create peace ourselves, let us come before the Lord with a thankful heart and have “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) bestowed upon us.

Our confident trust in the Lord will allow us to thank Him in the midst of trials because we have God’s peace on duty to protect our hearts.

JOHN MACARTHUR