At Peace With God

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Sunday morning the 15th of March, 2020 at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Look for the video of our services on our Vimeo channel:  http://vimeo.com/pilgrimreformedchurch.]

We find ourselves in what many feel to be unprecedented times.  The coronavirus has reached pandemic proportions.  Major events are being canceled everywhere.  You know that when basketball tournaments are canceled in North Carolina that something is seriously wrong!

But family, these are just the kind of times when we need to be strongest in our faith.  You could even say this is why God gave us faith: to see us through times like these.  Because our faith also gives us another gift.

Please listen and follow along to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome about what our faith can also provide, from chapter 5, verses 1 through 11, again reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible…

1 By faith we have been made acceptable to God. And now, because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we live at peace with God. 2 Christ has also introduced us by faith to God’s undeserved kindness on which we take our stand. So we are happy, as we look forward to sharing in the glory of God. 3 But that’s not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. 4 And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope 5 that will never disappoint us. All of this happens because God has given us the Holy Spirit, who fills our hearts with His love.

6 Christ died for us at a time when we were helpless and sinful. 7 No one is really willing to die for an honest person, though someone might be willing to die for a truly good person. 8 But God showed how much He loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful.

9 But there is more! Now that God has accepted us because Christ sacrificed His life’s blood, we will also be kept safe from God’s anger. 10 Even when we were God’s enemies, He made peace with us, because His Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by His Son’s life. 11 And in addition to everything else, we are happy because God sent our Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us.

--Romans 5:1-11 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Father God, You knew all along that we would face tough times, even terrible times, times when fear runs strongest.  So You promised us that if we would only believe in Jesus as Your Son and accept Him as our Lord and Master, that You would give us the wonderful gift of faith.  And our faith itself would allow us a calming peace in the turmoil of our lives.  Because of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us, because of our belief in Him, we can be at peace with You.  And through that peace, we can find inner peace, even as the storm rages around us.  Thank You Father for blessing us with such wonderful gifts of faith and peace.  Please help us to trust in You in all things.  Help us remain true to Your Son and to show Him to the world in how we ourselves live.  Give us the strength of our faith.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit in our hearts.   Write Your message there so it is always before us.  Speak to us of death to this world and our sin, and life everlasting.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.


Author and inspirational speaker Tim Hansel, in his book, Holy Sweat, wrote the following:

In my late twenties, a bunch of my friends and I decided to sail around the world.  I have to admit, though, at the time I was a bit worried.  I hadn't even sailed before.  I was uneasy and anxious.  So I spent a lot of time reading the Bible and praying about it, until it dawned on me that God was whispering, "Tim, I'll give you peace if you read some books on sailing.  The reason you're anxious is not due to lack of prayer, but to your lack of sailing knowledge."

I wasn't unprayerful; I was unskilled.  So I took a step I needed to take to "let" God work his peace in my heart.  I began reading about sailing.

I’m reminded of the old joke about the woman who kept praying that God would let her win the lottery.  She’d pray the same thing, week after week, yet she never won a dime.  Finally, in utter desperation, she got down on her knees and poured her heart out, telling God how she needed the money to pay her bills and help her family, and promised to give some to the needy.  As the tears poured from her eyes, God responded.  “Help Me out a little, would you?  Go out and buy a lottery ticket!”

I’m sure you’ve heard the old expression, “God helps those who help themselves.”  Well, in a way, that’s very true.  We know that God provides for our needs, and gives us everything we have.  But we can’t just sit back and say, “OK, God…  take care of me.”, and not do anything ourselves.  If nothing else, we have to swallow food and drink water.  God fed Elijah by having the ravens bring him food, but Elijah had to first do as God commanded and go into the wilderness and hide, drinking from a stream.  We have to take some initiative, do something for ourselves.  God will see to the rest.

It’s just like what we’re going through right now.  We can pray to God for protection from this disease, but we can also avoid large crowds, eat right and get plenty of sleep, wash our hands.  We need to trust in God, but we also need to be wise in our living.


By faith we have been made acceptable to God and because of our Lord Jesus, we are at peace with God.  We can live in God’s peace.  Even with this disease swirling around us like a whirlwind, we can find a great measure of peace.

There once was a Samaritan woman who knew no peace.  Her life was such a mess, she even had to wait and go to the village well when none of the other women were around.  Otherwise, they would cruelly taunt and ridicule her.  But Jesus offered her peace, peace through the living water that springs forth into eternal life.  Listen to what Jesus told this woman, as recorded by the Apostle John in his Gospel account,  chapter 4, verses 13 and 14…

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

--John 4:13-14 (NKJV)

Jesus said, “I am the living water.  Drink of Me and never thirst again.  What I give is everlasting life.”  It took a while for the woman to understand that Jesus wasn’t talking about physical water, nor was He saying she’d no longer have to go to the well and fear being tormented by the villagers.  But once she understood, and once she did accept Jesus as Lord, a peace settled over her.  For she knew that her eternal life was now secure.  She realized that no matter what happened in this life, in the next she would want for nothing and would enjoy paradise.  She was at peace with God.


Now, peace with God doesn't mean freedom from worldly turmoil.  Jesus tried to caution His disciples, and us, not to think that God’s peace provides a break from strife.  Listen to Jesus’ own words, again from the Apostle John’s Gospel account,  chapter 16, verses 32 and 33…

32 "Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

--John 16:32-33 (NKJV)

There are two beautiful offerings of assurance in those two short verses.  Even though we are faced with turmoil and tribulation while in this world, we can find peace through Jesus because He has overcome the world.  And we are not alone – we are never alone – because our Father God is always with us.  We can face those trials life throws at us by seeking an inner peace because we are at peace with God.  He is always with us and will give us peace.  And when this life is over we will know true and everlasting peace.  We just have to get through this life, and God will help us with that, if we seek Him and His peace.

Be at peace, family – God’s peace.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Amen.


Let us pray…  Father God, thank You for Your gift of faith that also allows us to be at peace with You.  By Your Son’s sacrifice, we who believe in and obey Him are now acceptable in Your sight.  And because of Jesus, not only are we at peace with You, but we are assured of life eternal with You and Him in paradise.  No matter what this life throws at us, no matter what we have to face, we know You are always with us and that You give us Your peace, an inner peace that sees us through.  Thank You, Father, for such wonderful gifts of redemption, salvation, faith, and peace.  Please help us to live our lives as Jesus lived, loving as He loves.  Help us to be more worthy of His sacrifice and Your great love.

Please hear us now, Father, as we come to You in the silence, speaking from our hearts, promising to repent of our sinful ways, seeking Your forgiveness and Your help…

Lord Jesus, Your sacrifice atoned for our sin, redeeming us, washing us clean in God’s eyes.  Then, when we accept You as our only Lord and Master, our Father God bestows upon us the amazing gifts of salvation and faith.  And with these comes peace with God.  Our future is assured by our faith, so we can face the trials of this life through the help You give us and the peace that can come only from God.  Thank You, Jesus, for this calm assurance, even in times of greatest trouble.  Please help us stay strong in our faith, and in our trust in You and in God.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.