“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

So often, the problem I have with peace is that I really want peace with God, but I kinda like some of the stuff I struggle with. Let’s call it the problem of “AND.”

• Of course I want peace with God – AND I don’t want to change my ways
• I want peace with God – AND there are some sin things I kinda enjoy relishing in that I don’t want to give up
• I want peace with God – AND I don’t want to work at it

Basically, I want peace with God AND I want to stay the way I am.

That’s the problem. I am the problem. You see, God is at war with sin and what it does in God’s creation. There is no room for compromise with sin for God. Sin is serious enough that God would die on the cross and descend into hell to rid our world of sin.

As long as there is any inclination of peace with sin, there can be no peace with God.

Charles Spurgeon wrote: Until you have humbled yourself before God and sought and found mercy, God is at war with you and you are at war with God. There can be no peace where there is no purity. God has no peace with sin, and never can.

You want peace? You want peace with God? Holiness matters.

“One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger” (Luke 8:22-23).

Today, I share with you what Pastor Craig Groeschel says about this passage. Pastor Craig is the pastor of Life Church who shares the YouVersion Bible app with the world for free:

The same peace that calmed the raging storm on the sea is the very peace that can calm your heart today. It isn’t a peace that depends on everything around you being quiet, orderly, or easy. It’s not found when the world finally settles down or when all the questions are answered. This peace shows up when Jesus is close – right in the middle of the noise, the fear, and the uncertainty. Waves may still crash and winds may still howl, but his presence brings a deeper stillness that nothing else can touch. When he speaks peace, it reaches beyond circumstances and settles the soul, reminding you that you are held, seen, and never alone.

Pastor Craig Groeschel

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4)

I don’t think God got the memo.

When I pray for peace, what I am expecting and wanting is for God to get rid of everything that is stealing peace from me.

• Violence? – yup. Get rid of it!
• People out to get me? – yup. I want them gone.
• Financial pressure? – yup. Absolutely
• Disease? – Yup. Is that even a question?

That’s what I expect. Peace. Everyone knows what peace is.

I don’t think God got the memo.

God doesn’t promise peace in the absence of evil, hardship, disease. God promises peace in the midst of those things. Look where God locates his protection and guidance – even though I walk through the valley of the shadows of death. Whatever that valley is, it sure sounds ominous and foreboding. And that’s exactly where God promises his peace.

Until Jesus comes to make all things right, the world you and I live in is going to have hardship, disease, betrayal, and suffering. And that is why God promises us his presence and peace in the midst of the storm. That’s the only kind of help that will make a difference for people living in this world.

Maybe it’s not that God didn’t get the memo as much as we better start paying heed to God’s memo.