Verse and Devotional

‭Psalms‬ ‭34:14‬ ‭NIV‬

[14] Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

https://psalm.bible/psalm-34-14

Reconciled for a Purpose

Have you ever attempted to balance a difficult equation?

There’s a lot more to it than simply getting the right answer. You need to understand the step-by-step process if you want to be able to apply it and find new solutions in the future. In fact, most solutions in life involve a process, and the idea of reconciliation is no different.

It’s not enough to know that reconciliation is the answer to disunity and injustice, though. We have to seek to understand and actively engage in the process. Reconciliation is the hard-but-good, beautiful-yet-messy, worth-it kind of work.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, you are not only called to understand and engage in the process of reconciliation; you are thoroughly equipped to be a minister of reconciliation. Scripture affirms that every believer is a minister of reconciliation, empowered by God Himself (2 Corinthians 5:11-21).

So how do we do that? Psalm 34:14 lays out a few steps for us:

“Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it.”

Psalm 34:14

Turn from evil and do good. Turning from evil means both rejecting evil outwardly and addressing it inwardly within our own hearts. We confess the sin that caused the fracture by acknowledging our role in conflicts with God and others, and we turn from our old ways and actively seek peace.

Seek peace and pursue it. Peace isn’t the absence of conflict; it’s the presence of restored harmony. Seeking peace means we aren’t just peace-keepers; we are peacemakers who actively pursue being a part of restoration. We listen empathetically and strive for understanding. We see and are attentive to the brokenness around us and ask where God might be calling us to be a part of reconciliation. And we put in the work because this kingdom work is worth it.

And because of the reconciliation work of Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, reconciliation is not a problem to be solved; it's a process that you’ve been invited to. Jesus Christ is reconciling the world to Himself. How will you join Him?

Pausing to reflect within my personal journeys towards being a peace seeker, acknowledging that even in the greatest intentions of life, speaking truth for hope of closures are not always a guarantee to be completed. Reading today brings light on attempts to be peaceful and having to make peace within circumstances to rise up into a peace beyond understanding...that comforts circumstances beyond our control even in efforts to make it a possibility.... thankful for forgiveness and not forgetting...as that is where healing and peace coincide with Christ. Amen

Blessings & Light

BlueEyedGirl 💙