Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
We’ve just concluded a truly historic week. The U.S. presidential elections have sparked a significant global shift. Following President-Elect Trump’s victory, rumors of peace talks have surfaced, with the Houthis in Yemen exploring peace opportunities, and Hamas and Hezbollah contemplating the possibility of peace. Conversations between President-Elect Trump, Zelensky of Ukraine, and Putin of Russia indicate a shared pursuit of peace. In this spirit of seeking shalom, it reminded me of a story.
Back in the third century Cyprian the Bishop of Carthage wrote to his friend Donatus: “It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered, in the midst of it, a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy, which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians, and I am one of them.”
This is the kind of peace that we are supposed to experience as believers. The kind of shalom that people notice, especially when we display it through our troubles. The kind of peace we can attain when we’re despised — when we’re persecuted — when everything is chaotic around us.
Yeah, it’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But we have victory in our Lord. Let’s determine to trust God for that victory in a way we haven’t before, for before us is a great opportunity if we would simply seize it!
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
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David’s faith and courage in volunteering to fight Goliath was an embarrassment to his big brother Eliab, an officer in King Saul’s army. I imagine his thinking went something like this; “If my little brother wins everybody will ask, ‘How come you didn’t go out and fight him?’” The Bible records that Eliab “burned with anger at David and asked, ‘Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is…’” These are devastating words from an older brother. Before David could defeat Goliath he first had to overcome the attitudes, accusations and words, of those close around him.