“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace…”

-Galatians 5:22 [a]

The fruit of the Holy Spirit supernaturally flows out of us when we are in sync with Him. God’s supernatural peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Anything outside of life with Him is false peace and temporary comfort, and we are left to manufacture everything in our own strength.

Here’s the thing: we can easily come up with an excuse as to why we are not experiencing peace, and, instead, we are struggling, overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, etc.

I call this pattern of arguing with God’s Truth the “yeah buts.”

Jesus said peace is ours today, and instead of wondering what is out of agreement between us and Him, we come up with our list (human understanding) of the endless reasons why we can’t have peace; why we can’t be living with a supernatural joy; why we feel boxed in, overwhelmed and heavy laden. As soon as we say, “yeah but” and give in to what our circumstances are telling us, or the feelings of our flesh, we are giving our thoughts and feelings more power than the presence of the Holy Spirit that is in us, not living life in rhythm with Him.

Then we give responses like, “Well, you don’t know what I’ve been through” or “You have no idea what I am living with (or who I’m living with—careful on that one),” or “I have so many responsibilities in my life . . .”

The answer: You are correct.

Most don’t know what it’s like to live in your shoes, live your experience or feel what you are feeling. I know my journey. I know my losses. I know the pain in life that I have experienced, and I am not going to compare your pain to mine or your life responsibilities to mine. Pain is painful, and each one of us has our personal lives to tend to. Comparing our lives or our pain with each other automatically takes our eyes off of Jesus and onto others’ lives. Taking our eyes off Jesus sets us up for automatic insecurity and heaviness. God cares about our painful experiences in life; He says to bring it all to Him, and He will heal our brokenness.

But as soon as we start comparing our pain and our lives to those around us, we are subconsciously making ourselves the victim, giving ourselves permission to remain in the pain, burdened by life, making excuses as to why we can’t be confident, joyful, and free.

If we are holding onto what’s happened to us in life versus what we have access to as children of God, we cannot walk in or toward our victory. We remain victims to life’s circumstances versus living victoriously as a child of God.

This is just the truth.

God’s grace will sustain you beyond what your human limitations can bear. This is His promise to each of us.

His promises are failproof.

He also never promised us a pain-free, perfect, or comfortable life for our flesh. He promised He would bring us peace and strengthen us through it all as we yield to Him and live by the Spirit.

I put myself through some checks and balances as I go through life.

If I am feeling anxious, I connect with what I’m thinking about, and I will typically find fear-driven and worrisome thoughts.

If I have fear or worry, then I know I am not trusting God with something. I am not living by faith.

Recognizing this reality and the mind war that’s going on, becomes an opportunity to release (or cast) my worries upon Him, growing in both faith and trust. Faith and trust work hand in hand, leading me to His perfect peace, and His grace meets me.

When we are moved in faith (what we cannot see) and trusting Him (with what we know of Him), supernatural peace is released into our lives.

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!”

— Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

Prayer: 

Father, Your Word says that in You, I have access to a peace beyond anything this life can give me, but I don’t know how to experience Your peace with all the pain I’m feeling in my heart. My mind feels more like a war of anxious thoughts, stress, worry, and fear; your peace feels unattainable. I’m admitting to You that I have put my trust in circumstances and life going smoothly, not anchoring my faith and trust in what I have in You. I’m learning that I have given my feelings and circumstances more power than Your presence in my life — forgive me for not trusting You with my whole heart and mind. Holy Spirit, help me identify the thoughts that attack my mind and show me the areas I’m not trusting. I want to grow in faith and trust and experience the peace that transcends beyond human understanding. Father, thank you for your unending love and patience; I know You’ve been waiting for me to trust you with open arms. Thank you for the gift of peace and all I have access to through Your Son. In Jesus’ mighty name, amen.