Into Practice

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9

Sometimes Christians wonder why they aren’t experiencing more peace in their life. After all, they believe the gospel, they believe in Jesus, yet they wonder where their peace has gone. We get a clue as to what happened in this passage.

The pathway to peace is putting it into practice. It’s not enough to learn, to receive, to hear or to see the gospel on display. We must actually take it and apply it to our daily life. When we put it into practice, when we obey–when we live it out–that is when we experience the God of peace who is with us.

For example, it’s not enough to learn that we must forgive because we are forgiven. It’s not enough to receive forgiveness and hear about forgiveness. It’s not enough to see forgiveness in action. All of those things help us gain understanding about what forgiveness is and why it is important, but they won’t bring us peace until we actually forgive the person who hurt us. It’s when we “put it into practice” that we experience the God of peace fill our hearts and minds with peace.

So if there is unrest or the absence of peace in an area of our life, we have to ask ourselves if we are putting the gospel into practice in that area. Often it is as simple as sitting quietly for a few minutes, listening to worship music, and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal anything that we aren’t putting into practice. Once the Holy Spirit brings it to the surface, thank Him, ask for forgiveness, and ask what it looks like to put it into practice. Don’t be surprised if you see pictures in your mind’s eye or hear thoughts that clarify what to do next.