RUN LIKE A CHAMPION

I was quite intrigued the first time I visited Romania. I found the people some of the most hospitable in the world. But there was one custom among the Christians that really stirred my curiosity. They greeted one another with the word pace. It’s pronounced pach-ey and simply means “peace.” The reason their greeting intrigued me was that when I first traveled into the country, there was no external peace, especially for Christians.
Christians were hunted and persecuted. They lost their jobs and were often placed in prison. So why did these believers greet each other with peace? The non-Christian community certainly didn’t greet each other that way. So what caused these outcasts of society to say peace when they saw one another? It didn’t make sense.
But after I came to know many of these dear brothers and sisters, I began to understand. They were enemies of the communist regime, but friends with God. They had an intimate walk with the Lord that produced what the apostle Paul called a peace that passed all understanding. It doesn’t make sense to have peace in the middle of extreme trials and difficulties. But that’s God’s specialty. He has a way of making sense out of nonsense.
Peace is a by-product of the victorious Christian life. It’s a fruit of the Holy Spirit that’s produced in the believer fully yielded to Christ and trusting in Him. The Old Testament speaks of peace in more of an outward sense. It often had physical meaning. But the emphasis of peace in the New Testament is directly related to the innermost part of our lives and our relationship with God.
We have peace with God because of what Jesus did on the cross. Paul wrote, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). I ceased my war with God when I placed my faith in Christ. I’ll never forget that night. I walked out of the church where I’d prayed to receive Christ with peace flowing in my heart. It was like a thousand pounds had been lifted from my shoulders. I was at peace with the God who created me.
The wonderful thing about the Christian life is that we can also know the peace of God. We can be at peace with God, but also experience the peace of God. Christians are not exempt from trials and difficulties. But we can be exempt from the turmoil of the heart that often accompanies those tribulations. That’s why Paul also wrote, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6, 7).
No, it doesn’t make sense to have peace in the midst of tragedy and pain. It’s impossible to understand why we experience all of the problems we face. But the victorious Christian life produces peace in the midst of pain, joy in times of suffering, and love when we’re hated. Only the indwelling Christ can produce such a life. He is able because He is the Prince of Peace.