We are first and foremost spirit beings. As someone who has a personal relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in my spirit. We also have a soul. Which is our mind, will and emotions. We live in a body. God created us to have peace in our spirit, soul and body. Without the Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit this balance of peace is hard to maintain. Left to our own devices we tend to keep a constant amount of strife in our soul. We have moments of peace, but not the stable peace we crave.

What are the sources of strife? What the Bible calls sin is one source. Sin is choices that are bad for your body or soul and creates conflict with your spirit. Relationships are another source of strife. People can make choices which harm your body or soul and also creates conflict with your spirit. Illness causes strife. When your body is ill it creates strife in your soul, which puts your soul out of balance which creates strife with your spirit. The same can definitely be said for emotional and mental illnesses. Basically, life in this reality is a source of strife.

So, how do we overcome the world and know peace? First, we have to have a relationship with Jesus Christ the source of peace. Then we will have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit. Then we learn to make choices which allows that peace to enter our souls. This is the peace that surpasses understanding that Paul wrote about and we crave. Peace then becomes our rudder, and we make choices which keeps our body healthy and our soul in balance. We become able to hear from God, know His peace, and experience His love. This shows up in our outer lives as fruit of the Spirit and helps others to realize that there is something different about you and stirs up their desire for the peace you are experiencing.

Another way of saying this is that love produces peace. Loving God, loving ourselves and loving others produces peace. Love also produces joy, but that’s another post.