“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… ” Col. 3:15
Dear Lord Jesus, this week like all 52 of them—something will functionally sit atop my heart-throne, determining how I think, what I feel, and the choices I make. Some heart-bosses are easy to recognize because we know they mean harm; others are harder to discern because we put them there and they do our bidding. So what clamors to be the boss of our hearts?
It could be what we see in the mirror each morning. A “Vanity Fair” is always close by, selling comparison, disappointment, and short-term remedies. Then there’s the twin brothers of lust and greed—who will seek control of our whole being until the Day we are no longer capable of envy and sinning. There is a legion more of wannabe rulers who crave supremacy in our hearts, but none is more destructive than the 3-headed monster of fear/resentment/anger. Lastly—because I’m familiar with them, I’ll mention the anti-Gospel co-monarchs of guilt and shame. If the devil can’t make us proud, he’ll paralyze us with anything that keeps us allergic to grace and under-believing the Gospel.
But Lord Jesus, considering today’s Scripture, I choose your peace afresh as the ruler of my heart—as the “boss of me.” I gladly and readily raise the white flag of surrender to you as my Prince of Peace, Sovereign of Shalom, and King of Calm. You are already ruling the world with your “truth and grace”; surely, I can trust you to rule over everything else. You bid us learn from sparrows and fields—whom you feed and dress. May we slow down enough to do so this very week. May we receive these 8 words as a command, not merely as a Bible verse, cliché, or song title: “Be still and know that I am God.” So Very Amen.
