Ps 34:14 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
Peace is not easy, as some may think. Ignoring a tense situation does not cause peace to suddenly arrive. We have to become peacemakers before we can find peace, again not easy. We need to learn to work hard at living in peace with others every day.
If there is tension in a marriage find out the cause. It may only be a miss heard word or a complete misunderstanding. The same in families, this one said…that one said…and there it is, a strain in communication causing dissention. If not corrected and forgiveness offered years may pass and things stay the same; no peace. The same with coworkers. One day at lunch I finally asked what was wrong that she was always arguing and complaining about everything. At first she became defensive so I just reminded her that God knew everything and that I would pray for her. Later, during a lull and we were alone, she confided that she was afraid that her marriage was falling apart due to a sexual sin. I explained that I didn’t need to know who’s sin but that God needed to be allowed into the marriage for forgiveness to happen. I offered several solution of how to approach the subject with her husband and prayed for God’s guidance for her.
A few weeks passed and we had lunch together. She admitted that they started counseling and she realized how unsure she was about herself and her husband. Through this she discovered that the key is knowing the Lord is present through every situation all she has to do is ask. Peace is hard work but well worth it.
Jena Kleinpeter 