October 21, 2026
“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble” (Psalm 119:165).
Peace is a “fruit of the Spirit,” one of the blessings the Bible promises to those who strive to live close to God (Galatians 5:22–23). The Hebrew word translated “peace” in most English versions of the Old Testament denoted completeness, soundness, and overall well-being. The New Testament meaning is inner tranquility—a combination of hope, trust, and quiet of mind and soul.1
In this day and age, such peace can seem elusive at times. While the Bible contains many promises of peace for those who love God, we need to do our part to nurture it in our lives. Here are a few things we can do.
Trust God. In the Bible, peace comes through trusting in God. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).
Trust doesn’t just happen. As children, we learn to trust our parents because we feel their love and benefit from their care and mature understanding of life. We trust friends who have stuck with us through thick and thin. We trust our work colleagues whom we find to be honest and reliable. We trust people, in short, because of our experience with them.
It’s the same with God. The more we open our hearts to Him, the more we understand and experience His love and concern. The more we study the Bible and Bible-based materials, the better we understand God’s love and the more we appreciate His wisdom and goodness. As we take our problems to Him in prayer, we learn to depend on Him to help us to work them out. The better we get to know Him, the more we trust Him; and the more we trust Him, the more inner peace we experience.
Go God’s way. When we think in terms of what will please God and do our best to act accordingly, we can trust in His promises to bless us. “The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). That doesn’t mean everything will come easily or go smoothly, because hard work and troubles are part of life. It does mean, though, that we can have peace of mind even in difficult times, because we know how the story ends. Jesus told His disciples of all time: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
Take problems to God in prayer. Turning our problems over to God in prayer benefits us in two ways. First, we receive His help, which makes all the difference in the world. But it also has the extra benefit of taking the pressure off us to work things out. The Bible teaches us: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).
Give it time. Whatever may befall us and for whatever reason, we can rest assured that God can and will work all things together for good to those who love Him (Romans 8:28). In the meantime, our faith is strengthened and we learn patience. Without faith and patience, it’s hard to be at peace. That’s why the Bible tells us to stay positive and hang in there: “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2–4).
Let go of the past. It’s impossible to feel at peace with ourselves or God as long as we’re still carrying the burden of past mistakes, sin, and failure. We can repent a thousand times, but we won’t experience genuine peace until we fully accept the fact that God forgave us for every wrong the instant we asked Him to. God’s Word says, “I will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again” (Isaiah 43:25). “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” (Romans 5:1).
View adversity as opportunity. In the book of James we read: “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2–4).
In her book Gratitude: A Way of Life, Louise L. Hay wrote: “No matter what is happening around us, we can choose to respond in a way that will help us learn and grow. When we look at our difficulties as opportunities for growth, then we can be grateful for the lessons we are learning from these difficult experiences. There is always a gift in every experience. Expressing gratitude allows us to find it.” When we adopt that mindset, we put problems in perspective, we trust in God to work in and through them to fulfill His good purposes in our lives, and we find peace.
Cultivate contentment. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). The Greek word translated “godliness” in most English translations means “a proper response to the things of God, which produces obedience and righteous living.” Godliness isn’t a matter of piety or perfection. It isn’t a sinless state, but a lifelong process of transformation as we grow into Christ’s likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18).
And “contentment” isn’t a matter of feigning happiness or resigning ourselves to the way things are when they aren’t as they should be; it’s a matter of loving God and trusting Him for the outcome. It’s “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
Take time for quiet reflection. Andrew Murray (1828–1917), a South African writer and pastor, wrote: “Give God time to reveal Himself to you. Give yourself time to be silent and quiet before Him, waiting to receive, through the Spirit, the assurance of His presence with you, His power working in you. Let [Him] create within you a holy atmosphere, a holy, heavenly light‚ in which your soul will be refreshed and strengthened for the work of daily life.”
In those quiet moments, God is able to renew us in mind and spirit (Ephesians 4:23–24). “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Be grateful. Counting our blessings doesn’t solve all our problems, but it takes our focus off the things that upset and unsettle us and puts it on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
Deepen your personal relationship with God. The better you get to know Jesus by reading the Bible and by spending time with Him in prayer and communion, the more your faith will be strengthened and your trust in God will grow, no matter how things may appear on the surface. He will always be with you, even during the turbulent times of life. His promise is to be with you always (Matthew 28:20).
Adapted from an article originally published in the Activated magazine in May 2011.
1 Nelson’s Bible Dictionary (Thomas Nelson, 1986).
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