The Reason For Restoring Peace

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen"

Hebrews 12:20-21

This passage is one of the central texts that highlight the reason for Restoring Peace Ministries.

• The God of Peace. The God of the bible intends to be known as the God of Peace. In our most troubled seasons of conflict and tension we do not need to doubt God's purpose in our situation, he desires peace. It is true that our difficult experience will cloud our understanding. His timing for accomplishing our peace will likely not align with our expectations. But we can be assured that he intends to be known as the God of Peace.

• He sacrificed for our peace. Unlike us, God is not ambivalent. He does not have competing desires. He is not stuck. Our God will accomplish what he desires. Our sin is what caused our anguish and continues to do so. Sometimes we are the perpetrators, other times we are the recipients. But it was God who sent his son, Jesus Christ, to live, die and resurrect to new life in order that we could have peace with God and others. Any mistake we have made, any failed attempt in pursuing peace are all forgiven. 

• He intends to help us live in peace. There are two ways in which God is at work in us to secure the peace he desires for us to experience. He is 'equipping' and 'working'.

First, he is equipping. The root meaning of the word is to restore.  The God of Peace, who has secured our peace in the death of his son, is now restoring in us everything good so as to live at peace. He has not forsaken anything that he has made. He is helping us to become what we were made to be, a people at peace with him and with one another.

In addition, he is also ‘working in us’. God is not simply reinstalling the hardware. Our God is working in us the capacity,  interest,  affection, and energy needed to secure peace. In every moment of pursuing peace we will need our Father, his Son and Spirit. 

• He will be honored for peace. Lastly, Jesus Christ will receive glory, forever and ever, for what he has accomplished for and through us.

Whatever may be accomplished through the coaching, training and mediation of Restoring Peace Ministries, it will only happen because of the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are simply messengers of the good news of peace. Whatever lonely, dark, hurting situation you have find yourself in, we are here to help and remind you that God has not abandoned you.

God’s grace and peace to you.

Remember this!

Relational conflict can sometimes surprise me. I can also anticipate its impending arrival. In either situation I must make choices.

A pilot friend recently told me that one of the most dangerous moments in flying is when engine failure happens during take off at the end of a runway. With no power, a short runway and few choices, it is understandable that a pilot would “lose it”. There are options in this crucial moment, options for which they prepare. The key is for pilots to remember their training.

When the warning signs of conflict are felt or imagined, we prepare for survival. We call these reactions fight, flight or freeze. Sometimes we experience them without knowing what we are doing, as they are simply self protective reactions. The strength in our response reflects the fear in our hearts and minds. 

But there is one thing that we must never forget when we find ourselves in conflict despite what our initial reactions may be. 

Philippians 4 reminds us that when we feel anxious, we are to pray. We are to remember the good; we are to rejoice. We are to redirect our minds toward what is true, right, noble, pure and so forth. These verses remind us that God is with us; that we are to be sober-minded and intentional.

Verse 2 shows us that the context of Paul's instruction here is conflict. We are reminded to pray, to remember the good in the midst of conflict, and to aid us in dealing with it biblically.

But how can we respond to conflict without fight, flight or freeze reactions, but to prayer and thoughtful reflection instead? Verse 5 reminds us that the Lord is at hand, with us, empowering us to do good. We are not forsaken or abandoned; we are accompanied by God himself.

I believe it is found in vs. 5, “The Lord is at hand.” The one thing we must remember when conflict arises is that God has neither forsaken nor abandoned us. But to the contrary he has promised to be near.

This truth is also found in Matthew 18. We have spent so much time looking at the principles for biblical conflict resolution that we have missed the big promise that is the foundation for any effort at resolving conflict. In Matthew 18:20 we find, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."

God’s presence has significant implications for how we move forward when conflict arises. First, we have no need for self protective behaviors. There is nothing that can be exposed that God does not already know. He is neither anxious nor worried about our sin, as he has already dealt with it in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are free to move forward in love because any successes or failures are good gifts from our father given by the spirit. 

Second, God can bring more change in our lives than we could ever conjure up ourselves. If I forgive the other person will they stop sinning against me? Am I justified in responding with anger to match their anger?  Is this situation the beginning of the end of this relationship? All of these questions are attempts at controlling the relationship. God’s presence reminds me that he loves each of us more than we could ever love one another or ourselves. He is more interested in and powerful to bring about the change we desire than we are. 

Lastly, remembering that God is near helps us to rejoice, pray and offer grace to the other person. God is near to us in conflict and does not intend for us to handle this situation alone. His nearness can take us out of our knee jerk reactions of self protection so that we can move towards the other person with kindness, thinking of what is best.