Any time a Christian's peace is gone, it is of the devil. Oh, how well I know that most of us have been taught not to blame the devil...but the fact is that it is he who is behind the disruption & absence of peace.We live in a world of conflict, confusion, upset, anger, disagreements and offenses. We cannot avoid these unpleasant, and at times, destructive and painful experiences - as hard as we try, and as much as we hate them!
Things can be going along "normally" (that means they are favorable and pleasant), and almost without warning or cause, we are in the midst of upheaval - at home, at work, at school or at church.
As mentioned, we have to conclude that such "clashes" are most frequently unavoidable, for most of the time - even with the benefit of hindsight - we wonder how in the world it happened? Oh, there are reasons, but not anywhere near the level of the resultant hurt, distress and separation.
This stuff is from the devil! It is not of God, and most often not even "our fault" - again to the level of such great harm and pain. Behind great conflicts and offenses is a dirty devil who gets his jollies from upseting the saints, and he delights in "helping" us maintain huge quanities of guilt and blame for days at a time.
Ephesians 6:12 maintains that: "we wrestle not against flesh and blood" (but against Satan's powers).
In John 14:27 our Lord specifically promised to His followers that: "My peace I give unto you, and not the peace of the world".
He continues in John 16:33, "These things have I spoken unto you that in Me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world".
Here are two certainties. One, we cannot escape tribulation because we are earthlings. We cannot avoid; we cannot anticipate; we cannot walk close enough to the Lord; we cannot stay in the Word or pray enough; we cannot try hard enough; to eliminate conflicts, misunderstandings, disagreements and the pain that accompanies them.
What we can do is, two, be mature enough to know that the devil is actively fostering all of them. We can pray for grace and patience. We can apologize and ask forgiveness. We can stay tender and humble. And we can refuse to affix blame...to ourselves or to others. We grow up in grace when we place the lion's share of the blame right where it belongs!
