A View of Faith

Let me set some background. I'm a lawyer and most of what I do is real estate closings. The real estate world has been terrible and I have had the worst two years ever--worst than getting started. In getting started you don't have anything and don't mind. Its different when you been doing--and now there is little. Anyway, back to the story. It been a very difficult, discouraging, depressing two years. Many times I've thought that God wanted me to pull the plug on real estate and work in the peacemaking area. But I have just not been able to do that. I've thought over and over that it was just a lack of faith. I just couldn't trust God to provide

Recently, I finished up two small closings and realized that for the first time in nearly 25 years I didn't have a real-estate transaction in process--not one, nothing, nada. And I was at peace about that. My first thought, the cynical thought, was that God had just done what I was supposed to do. The second thought was, I think, more insightful. Is it possible that my inability to end the real estate practice was because I wasn't supposed to? God wasn't telling me to do something. He really was telling me that it would end. When I realized that God had done what I thought I was supposed to do--there was grace in the form of peace.

I think what God wanted me to see is that real faith isn't found in taking things into my own hands but in enjoying the peace of accepting what God has done - in His own way - in His own time.

I've spent two years tied in a knot worrying about the lack of work to do. I've not spent two days enjoying what God did.

God works in us in different ways and this is just my story at this time. I hope that it is helpful to you.

Peace: The Finished Product of Grace

In Romans 5:1-2 we are told that having been “justified by faith we have peace with God.” The Bible is the story of how God, through the sacrifice of His son, made the way for the war that rages between God and His creation to come to an end. The “favor” of God, His grace, through faith (another expression of His “favor”) makes our peace a reality.

Grace and peace are tied together.

But there is another understanding of peace that is also tied to grace. When we talk about peace, we often think of security, rest, no worries, the calm after a storm. This kind of peace is a settled confidence. It is the sense that comes when we know we have sufficient resources to meet any need. This peace is a work of grace through faith.

In the Old Testament the word was “Shalom”. Shalom was a sense of total well-being. Shalom was the security that came from knowing everything was in order and that one had sufficient resources for every need – no worry, no lack, satisfied in every area of life. To greet or send away someone with the blessing of “Shalom” was to desire for someone to experience only the best in everything.

Is it any wonder that in the New Testament the Apostle Paul began his letters to the churches with “Grace and Peace to you”. He understood that the message of the gospel brought the grace that produces peace in the believing hearer.

The same grace that God bestows upon our lives brings us peace with Him. When we extend that grace to others, peace will characterize our relationships.

The Golden Opportunities of Conflict

Without minimizing the very real pain, hurt, and loss that conflict brings, it is important to realize that it also introduces three golden opportunities into our lives. As followers of Christ, we can see Him doing good to us in the midst of distress and conflict.

First and foremost, everything in our lives, both the good and the bad, is a backdrop upon which the glory of God is seen. God is always working in our situations to see His glory reflected in us. The Bible and the history of the Church tell the story of God’s children displaying the Father’s love as He teaches us how to respond to conflict, both inwardly and outwardly. We display His character when we, in faith, allow the wisdom and ways of God to be our wisdom and ways. As God’s grace and peace shines through our lives, a hurting world sees His love.

Secondly, conflict not only presents an opportunity to reflect God to the world, but it also serve as part of the process that conforms us into the image of Jesus Christ. Through conflict, believers are given the mind and heart of Christ. The old self is replaced with the renewed mind of the Savior.

The third golden opportunity afforded to us through conflict is that, as we seek to glorify God and be remade in the image of Christ, we are able to partner with God as He redeems a broken world. Conflict is an opportunity to minister grace into the life of another person. As the glory of God and the mind of Christ are displayed in our lives, people will experience an eternal, growing relationship with their Creator.

Conflict is painful. But by focusing on the “golden” opportunities, we can have peace and joy as we experience the eternal work of God in our lives and in the lives of others.