Making Peace with God

Our relationship with God is like a close friendship. When I was a teenager, I once had a conflict with a friend. Our relationship, which had once been as close as siblings, changed into that of strangers. I really wanted to make peace with him, but our already broken relationship made that difficult to do. We needed someone else’s help to reconcile us.

It is no different with the relationship between God and humanity: when there is a problem, we need reconciliation. Isaiah 59:2 states that sin separates us from the Lord. It is our evil and our wrongdoing that become the problem in our relationship with Him.

If so, what is needed to restore our relationship with God?

What Does It Mean to Make Peace with God?

For if, while we were still enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, now that we have been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! – Romans 5:10

What makes us God’s enemies is sin, so making peace with Him means dealing with our sin problems completely. God’s Word says that God restored His relationship with humanity through the death of Jesus Christ.

Then why must we make peace with God?

Because God is holy and cannot be one with sin. We must make peace with Him so that our sins may be forgiven, and so that we can be united with Him again. A person who has not resolved the problem of sin is, indirectly, His enemy.

Perhaps right now you feel there is no need to make peace with God because your life seems fine—work is good, finances are good, health is good, family is good. The question is, is your relationship with God also good?

The quality of our relationship with God needs to be examined continually. For example, in social media photos, you may look happy, harmonious, and close to family and friends. Everything appears beautiful and well. But in reality, is there peace in your heart? Or do you actually feel empty? Are you carrying guilt because there is sin you are hiding? If these feelings are still there, it is a sign that you have not yet made peace with God.

Steps to Make Peace with God

Making peace is an action that involves two parties. If one party does not agree with what the other offers, reconciliation will not happen. Before we made peace, my friend asked for compensation. For reconciliation to happen, I agreed to his terms.

God offers the way of peace to humanity, and to receive it, we need to take these two steps:

1. Surrender Yourself

You cannot expect Christ to reconcile you to God without first surrendering yourself. Surrendering yourself means humbling ourselves, letting go of all pride, and coming to Christ with a broken heart.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 

that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. On Christ’s behalf we plead with you: be reconciled to God. 

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become righteous before God. 

– 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

To receive peace with God, humility is needed. You need help from people whom God has entrusted to guide you to the way of salvation. At first, because of pride, I refused to be taught how to make peace with God. Then, after becoming aware of my sins and wanting to live a new life, I surrendered myself to study the Bible. So, in order to be guided in the Lord, we must learn to be humble.

2. Settle Your Sin

Because of sin, a separating chasm lies between humanity and God. You must settle the problem of sin completely before beginning a new life in the grace of God. The way is to confess and leave your sins behind.

The Lord has already forgiven our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ—and our part is to leave those sins behind. While studying the Bible, I faced the challenge of leaving behind a smoking habit I had for more than ten years. With the help of the community, I was enabled to stop smoking. To this day, for six years now, I have had no desire to enjoy cigarettes again (the sin of harming the body).

Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person, when prayed with faith, has great power. – James 5:16

Confessing sins to one another means we need a community of fellow believers whose members can: 1) pray for one another, 2) help one another deal with sin, and 3) guard one another from falling again into the same sin. Ask for help from people you trust who can help you. If you do not know where to begin, you can contact us here.

When life feels just fine, ask yourself: “Do I have peace in my heart? Is my relationship with God right? Is there any sin that is causing me to lose love, peace, joy, and even my relationships with those closest to me?”

It is no coincidence that you are reading this article. Now is the time for you to make peace with God, and also with yourself and others. Let yourself be reconciled to God. Come in humility, and let us strive to gain that peace!

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. – 2 Timothy 2:22  - Related Articles:

• Knowing God Personally Through Psalm 139
• How Does God Answer Our Prayers?
• Psalm 23: Becoming God’s Followers Together
• Making Peace with the Past
• Strategy in Prayer: Is It Necessary?

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