In a broken, battered world, God can use us to impact change

There is a lot of suffering in this world. A Lot. And I don't know about you, but when I hear about peoples' suffering or see it with my own eyes, it can feel very overwhelming. I want to help, but don't always know how. I want to help, but feel like my help is unwanted or viewed as insincere. I want to help, but the problem seems too complicated, too immense, or out of my reach. I ask, "What can I really do to impact change?'

I think this is what Satan wants me to believe. He wants me, us, to feel like we can't impact change, so why even try.

God's Word tells me differently. His Word paints a beautiful picture of how He can and does make an impact through us. Imperfect vessels carrying hope, healing, life, and truth to the suffering and the lost.

It starts with Him.

James 3:17-18

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

When I read through these verses recently, a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace, stood out to me.

A harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.

First and foremost, if we are going to be cultivators of peace, we need the wisdom that comes from above, especially in times of suffering, and in a broken, battered world. We need wisdom that transcends this world, and it comes directly from God, His Word, and His Holy Spirit.

His wisdom is like no other! His wisdom is innocent, perfect, peaceable, health-giving, patient, open to reason, full of compassion, without ambiguity, and sincere. His wisdom can be trusted because His is perfect, lacking nothing. His intentions and actions toward us are always good, for our good, and for the good of others. He blesses us so we can bless others.

Second, these scriptures give us a glimpse into how the Lord can make an impact through us. The word harvest can also be translated: the seed whose fruit is. So harvest of righteousness can be translated: the seed whose fruit is righteousness. God's wisdom is like seeds that we receive, plant in peace, and these seeds grow into plants that contain righteous fruit.

What is peace?

God's definition of peace is not the absence of conflict or suffering. It's far better. God's peace is not dependent on our personal circumstances or attached to the swirling chaos around us. His peace is much deeper and richer.

Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

Ephesians 2:14

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews (God's chosen people) and Gentiles (Non-Jewish people) into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

Romans 15:13

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:27

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid."

We learn several things from these verses about God's peace.

**First, peace is being made right with our Creator. Peace with our Creator comes through faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. When we admit we need a Rescuer, One who will save us from a life that is tossed around by the chaos of this world and our own selfish desires, and believe that Jesus paid the price for our sinfulness, we are forgiven, accepted, and made right with God. Through faith, our identity is transformed from enemy of God to child of God.

**Second, since all humans need a Rescuer, no one is better than another. In God's kingdom, race, gender, nationality, language, and financial status are not identity markers that make us better or worse than another human being. Everyone is created in God’s image, and desperately needs to be at peace with Him, so He can lead us in truth. He breaks down the barriers that make enemies of people, and commands us to love and be at peace with everyone, as best we can.

**Third, we see that our trust, whole-hearted dependance, on God is tied to His filling our souls with His joy and peace. Like a tree planted by streams of living water, whose roots drink from the living water, we our nourished by God Himself. God has also given us His Holy Spirit, who strengthens and empowers us to live with overflowing hope.

**Fourth, true, lasting peace of mind and heart cannot be found in anything else. It is a gift from God, through faith in Jesus, and rooted in God's character. Because of His peace, we don't have to live worried or fearful.

So how can all of this cause us to make an impact in our broken and battered world?

As children of God and cultivators of peace, we need to seek and receive God's wisdom, and as we do, plant it in peace. This means that as we apply God's wisdom in our lives, every intention, every thought, and every action needs to be rooted in the soil of our relationship with Him; Prayerfully planted in the peace we have with God through Jesus instead of in our selfish desires or self-reliant ways. Cultivators of peace are confident in the peace they have with God through Jesus because it is the nutrient-rich soil from which fruit grows. And do you know what is even more amazing about our relationship with God? He tends to us. He searches our thoughts, He knows our hearts, and points out anything in us that’s offensive and faithfully works to prune it.

God prunes us so:

Intentions, thoughts, and actions planted in peace will be free from pride, because we are at peace with God through grace and not works, so no one can boast.

God prunes us so:

Intentions, thoughts, and actions planted in peace will be overflowing with love for others, because God loved us while we were still sinners, enemies of His kingdom. He gave us Jesus, not because we deserved it, but because He loved us perfectly.

As we seek to be cultivators of peace, the scripture says that the seed will produce righteousness (purity of life, correctness in feeling, thinking, and acting). When we depend on God's wisdom, allow it to shape everything we think, say, and do, and plant it in peace, we will grow to be people who are full of compassion. We will grow to be people who are sincere, and cheerfully give to the needy. We will grow to be people who deeply desire that all people would be at peace with their Creator, and know the joy and peace only He can give.

Seeds will flourish into gardens of righteousness. Not self-righteousness, but gardens whose seeds are the wisdom of God, whose soil is the redemptive work of Jesus, and whose growth comes from the continual care of the Holy Spirit. These gardens will make an impact in the places we live; in our homes, in our neighborhoods, in our work environments, in our cities, and around the world, because it’s God’s work.

Genesis 22:17-18

"I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.”

God always intended to bless all the nations of the earth through His chosen people. From the beginning, He promised to give us Jesus, who would make peace between God and man once and for all, and through Him, we would become a blessing to others. When we receive God's wisdom and obey His Word, God uses us to impact change as we love mercy, choose what is just, and live in humble dependence on Him. As the Holy Spirit fills us with overflowing hope, that hope can pour out into other peoples’ lives, and they can begin to taste and see that the Lord is good.

"Either we are adrift in chaos or we are individuals, created, loved, upheld and placed purposefully, exactly where we are. Can you believe that? Can you trust God for that? " Elisabeth Elliot

Together, let’s trust God that He will use us to shine brightly in this dark world, and together, let’s live surrendered to His wisdom, His work, and His ways.

Sincerely,

Amy