There’s a quote I’ve heard recently that really spoke to my heart

There’s a quote I’ve heard recently that really spoke to my heart, “Ships don’t sink because of the water that’s around them, they sink because of the water that gets in them.” This quote speaks to the very core of personal peace.

The Bible says, “God will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him.”   If we are not careful, there are many things that happen around us in life that will begin to affect our peace and our purpose. When Noah was building the ark in the Old Testament, he was told to put pitch on it. The word for pitch in the Old Testament is the word for atonement. It clearly points to the atonement of Jesus Christ as the pitch that keeps our ship from sinking. Without this pitch, Noah’s ark would have filled with water and sank; however, because of the pitch, the water stayed on the outside and never got to the inside. This was critical to the survival of Noah’s family.

When we think of it this way, we can see our relationship with Christ is like the pitch on an ark that keeps the water out. As born-again believers, we are not supposed to be controlled by the circumstances in our lives. The Bible tells us very clearly, to set our thoughts on things above, and not on things of the Earth. Keeping the negativity around you from getting into your heart and controlling your life is critical to walking in personal peace. Jesus said to his disciples, “My peace, I give you, not as the world gives it.” The Bible tells the believer to guard the heart, for out of it, flows the issues of life. Guarding our heart is like the pitch on the ark in the Old Testament. It helps us keep things on the outside from getting inside where they would ultimately sink our purpose.

In the Gospels, Jesus calmed the storm from the outside of the boat to keep it from sinking. With the boat the disciples were on, He did this with a command, “Peace, be still.”   How many times in our life have things been breaking loose all around us and we cry out to Jesus and He gives the command, “Peace, be still.?” By learning how to guard our hearts and aggressively watch over our personal peace, we are enabled to keep other people from controlling our lives. We forgive others, by blessing those who persecute us.   By doing good to those who do wrong to us, we are empowered to live a life controlled by the Holy Spirit.

When Corrie Ten Boon walked in forgiveness toward those who were so cruel and sadistic to her in the concentration camps, she said, “ Forgiveness is setting the prisoner free only to find out the prisoner was me.” Corrie Ten Boom could still walk in personal peace impacting the lives of millions because through forgiveness, she was able to keep what had happened to her on the outside from getting inside and destroying her life. By the grace of God, we can keep the troubled waters around us from getting into our boat and sinking our lives.