I’ve been thinking about peace a lot lately.

All of us are wanting Peace, not only in our own lives, but also around the world.

If I had to define it---this would be my definition; Peace is a spiritual calmness and serenity as we are growing in Christ.

There are different things that interfere with our peace, and it is different for each one of us. We all have our own cross to bear, and mine has always been loneliness.

I don’t know what yours is, maybe it is the same as mine, or maybe it is different, but we all deal with interferences in our lives, that seem to rob us of our peace.

One thing that helps me some, is changing the way I look at things. Sometimes, it is changing the perception I have of how I am feeling.

I’ve sat down and analyzed what I believe to be the thing we are most trying to accomplish in order to obtain this peace.

1) Sense of belonging

2) Sense of worth

3) Sense of purpose

Tri-fold. I liken it to a tri-pod. Our camera sits at the back on a tri-pod to record our services each week. It holds the camera steady, so we can get a good copy, and not have to deal with looking at a picture that moves up and down whilst we try to view it.

If one of those legs were missing, the camera would fall down. It might even break the camera, if it hit the floor hard enough.

Let us take a closer look at these three words, shall we? Belonging I like a sense of belonging. I belong to my family, they belong to me. I belong to God, he belongs to me. Belonging, a wonderful word as well as a wonderful feeling.

When I loose my sense of belonging, I feel lonely, and as I said at the start of this, loneliness in my life, interferes with the goals I am trying to reach.

A sense of worth was the second one I mentioned. I need to know that I am important. That I matter. That my life has some value.

That brings us to purpose.

(Three-fold), belonging, worth, purpose.

I don’t know about any of you, but I can’t accomplish a one of those without making Christ my center. I have to have him as the center of my life, because I find, if I don’t, then I am the center.

I don’t function well with myself as the center. I find when I have placed myself there, I am selfish, self-absorbed, I become irrational, and feel hopeless.

We all think differently, don’ t we? We also have different values, and when I am too self-centered, I cannot feel God’s peace.

Paul says in Phil 4:7 and similarly in Eph 2:14, that in order to live with this peace, we must lay down self-center ness.

Peace is the opposite of self-center ness, It makes me feel lost. I move without direction. My relationships become fragmented. I am not happy when I am centered on self.

I find myself with more insecurities, afraid of intimate relationships. It is as if I am saying; “Don’t get too close to me, or you might see all of my flaws.

When I am Christ centered, I experience peace. Peace in my spirit, peace in my mind, and peace with my fellow man.

I have never found peace that didn’t come through a God-centered life.