22 Days of PeaceSample

The Plan of Peace

There is a false view of God that makes Him out to be a grumpy old man who is waiting to hit us over the head with a club or zap us with a lightning bolt the moment we mess up. This view supposes that God is planning and prepared to bring calamity on us. You can see this view is expressed whenever there is a natural disaster and they call it an act of God. You can also see it when people say that they are sick or someone has died because God is judging them or punishing them for their sins. The Bible gives us a different view of God than this. The truth is that God is not waiting to punish you. He sent Jesus for that very purpose. He has taken the sin issue along with the punishment for sin out of the way in the cross. With that out of the way, God is thinking about ways to bless you. He is madly in love with you and thinks about you all the time! (See Psalm 139:17-18) The thoughts God thinks are not for evil but for good. They are not about your hopeless past mistakes but about your hope-filled future. God calls these thoughts “thoughts of peace.” You can see why. If you know that God is not out to get you then you know that you can relax. God is making a plan for your future that will bring you peace! Not only that you can be hopeful and excited for your future because you know that God has something good in store. He has been planning it and is waiting for the right time and way to bring you into it. What surprises does God have in store for you? Be looking for them throughout the day. How does this understanding of God’s character and His desire for your future good change your perspective? What thoughts about God’s character have hindered having the proper perspective and understanding? If you have had the wrong outlook on God’s thoughts towards you then repent and replace them with the thoughts of peace, good, a future, and hope. Pray and thank God for what He has in store for you in the future.