Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.
Troublemakers, peacemakers. One of U.S. history's most infamous feuds was between the Hatfields and McCoys. Speculations abound as to how the feud erupted. Some maintain it was a family killing connected to the Civil War; others point to a stolen hog. Regardless, tensions were fever pitch between the two families during the 1880s in rural Kentucky and West Virginia where they lived in the Tug Valley. Their history is scarred by revenge, fighting, murder, and tragedy upon tragedy.
Unfortunately, life is still full of tension in our day. Do you feel like you're ready to snap, fed up with the stress, the noise, the worries? Are you worn out by anxiety in relationships, in your church, where you work, in your home?
Do you need help? A stressed-out and anxious psalm writer said it this way: "When I thought, 'My foot slips,' Your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart were many, Your consolations cheer my soul" (Psalms 94:18-19).
You see, friend, God has a different vision for your life than the simmering stress you feel. Instead of veering into life as a troublemaker, Jesus calls you to be a peacemaker—one who receives and shares the gift of His peace with others in the midst of this very broken world.
In October 2006, a man walked into a Pennsylvania Amish schoolhouse. He shot ten schoolgirls, killing five. The murderer died in this horrible attack. In a remarkable display of forgiveness, the people of that Amish community—including family members of the slain children—attended the murderer's funeral, comforted his widow, even offered financial support to help her. These wounded families overcame unconscionable heartbreak by tenaciously pursuing God's peace.
How did these people become peacemakers after this atrocity? The way God's people have always done it. They embraced God's peace in their heartache; they were empowered to share what they had received by grace; and they remembered the words of the apostle Paul: "I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance .... I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12a, 13).
Remember the Hatfields and the McCoys? Well, William Anderson Hatfield, patriarch of the violent and troublemaking Hatfield family, was changed by a power greater than himself. On September 23, 1911, Hatfield was baptized into the Christian faith. He was seventy-three years old. This former troublemaker became a peacemaker. He even helped plant a new church in his community.
Do you know that the price of our troublemaking has been paid in full? Jesus gave His life for you. And now, in all the things you face, in all the trouble and pain that come your way, you can forgive as you have been forgiven, and you can love as you have been loved by Christ. He is the One to whom we are all accountable, the One who alone gives you and me strength to become peacemakers in this troubled world.
WE PRAY: Heavenly Father, teach us to be peacemakers with others like Your Son Jesus was and is for us. Amen.
This Daily Devotion is based on the sermon, "God's Peacemakers for a Troubled World," by Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. Bitter feuds (wars) like that between the Hatfields and McCoys are common in our world. How does Jesus' words to His disciples offer us peace in our lives? (See John 16.)
2. What has God done to cheer our souls in this tense, worrisome world?
3. How we can be peacemakers in our day-to-day lives? Please provide some examples.
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 147-148 1 Corinthians 4
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