“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  
Matthew 5:9 

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.  He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.”  
Isaiah 2:4

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Peacemaking, before it requires any doing, is about being. 

It makes sense—we cannot offer nor facilitate what we don’t already have ourselves. In order to bring peace, we need to be someone who operates from a place of peace. There is little peace coming from a person with aggressive or inflammatory tendencies.  

This makes me think of a dear, Holy Spirit-led friend who often says, “Peace is my home.”  She spent years walking with the Father, asking His help in healing from her past hurts—the ones that, when grazed in a conversation with someone, could bring out a defensive or aggressive reaction. Over time, she came to view these “triggers” as ways to identify where she needs healing from Him. And most importantly, she has embraced herself as the person God says she is. She can chuckle with Him when one of her quirky thoughts comes up; she can look to Him with repentance when she acts in a way not aligned with His heart; and in all cases, she experiences a knowing of His grace and an outpouring of His love on her spirit whenever she needs it. She operates from the peace of knowing that He adores her, cheers her on, cares about what she cares about, and finds her truly delightful.  

Because she operates from this place of peace, she brings it with her into every interaction He has for her.  

Interestingly, avoiding conflict doesn’t really bring peace—it is like holding a beach ball under water to keep the stillness. Eventually, that beach ball will escape and bring unplanned, chaotic movement to the surface (for me, that can look like anger, sarcasm, or passive-aggressiveness). But one who operates from a place of peace will be led by God’s Holy Spirit into loving conflict, addressing the situation in a way that aligns with God’s heart in the situation. There are no hard and fast rules to peacemaking—just as God sees us all and loves us individually, each situation is different. When we are operating from peace, we can trust that God’s Holy Spirit will lead us. Often, peacemaking isn’t about the resolution, but the God-honoring way that the hearts in conflict are seen and heard.  

To be a peacemaker, we must first learn to still our inner waters by learning and coming to operate from our true identity. Then, in the moments when we find that our waters have been stirred, we can walk with our Father back to that place of peace. 

And the peacemaking will flow from there.

Next Steps 

Is peace your home? Is it the state of your spirit most of the time? If not, ask God to give you the courage and willingness to address the deep hurts that can stir up your inner waters. If you’re unsure how to find a counselor who could walk through your healing journey with you, Willow has response pastors who would be happy to help you determine what to look for. You can contact them here.