Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this honestly. It is difficult to work alongside someone when you do not understand why the tension has risen, and when you feel you do not have the margin to carry more stress. Your desire for peace in that workplace and for this woman's personal life is a good desire, and God wants you to live in peace.
Scripture speaks of two kinds of peace that belong together. The first is peace with God. We are born at enmity with God because of sin, and that war inside us spreads into every other relationship. That peace with God only comes one way, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for He made peace through His blood on the cross. When you place your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, the war with God is over. You are no longer running from Him or fighting against Him.
The second is the peace of God, the settled keeping of your heart and mind in the middle of chaos. The prophet Isaiah says God will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him, because that person trusts in Him. Jesus said to His disciples, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. The world cannot understand this peace, and the world cannot give it. Peter calls it a peace that passes human understanding. It does not depend on your coworker's mood changing or your circumstances becoming easy. It comes as your mind is turned toward Christ and you rest in the knowledge that He will take care of what concerns you.
That is why grace and peace are always linked in the New Testament, and always in that order. You cannot know the peace of God until you have first received the grace of God. If you are trying to earn God's favor by working harder or trying to fix everything yourself, you will not have rest. Peace comes as you receive His grace and learn to trust Him more fully.
It also helps to see your situation in a larger light. We live in a world of conflict because of the original rebellion against God, and we each feel that conflict within ourselves, the struggle between what we want to do and what we actually do. That same unrest shows up in workplaces and homes. It is right to pray against evil and to ask God to protect you, but it is also important not to simply label another person as the problem. She is a person made in God's image who, like all of us, needs the healing and forgiveness that Jesus alone can give.
God calls His children to be peacemakers, not just peace wishers. The wisdom that comes from above is peaceable, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. To sow peace means to ask God how you can bring His peace into that place, even in small ways, through patience, kindness, a gentle answer, and steady prayer.
Scripture also encourages you to seek the peace of the place where God has put you and to pray for it, for in its peace you will find peace. You can pray for your workplace in that way, and you can pray for this coworker by name, that God would work in her personal life and bring her to know His peace. The deepest need she has is not just for circumstances to calm down, but to have peace with God through Christ, because without Him there is no lasting peace. God says peace, peace to those who are far off and to those who are near, I will heal them, but there is no peace for those who continue in rebellion against Him. His thoughts toward you and toward her are thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give hope.
So I encourage you to keep your mind stayed on Christ at work, to bring your anxiety to Him in prayer, and to ask Him to guard your heart with His peace. And pray for your coworker not only that the tension would lift, but that she would come to know Jesus and that God would bring true peace into her heart and life. As you sow peace, God promises you will reap its fruit.
Let us pray together. Father, we thank You for the peace that You offer through the blood of Jesus Christ. We ask first that You would deepen this one's peace with You as they trust in Your grace, and then that You would fill their heart with Your perfect peace as their mind stays on You. Guard their heart and mind in Christ Jesus. We lift up this coworker to You. You see what is troubling her and what is happening in her personal life. Bring Your healing and forgiveness to her, draw her to Yourself, and let her know the peace that only Jesus can give. Help us to be peacemakers where You have placed us, to sow peace and to trust You to bring the fruit of righteousness. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our peace. Amen.
Scripture speaks of two kinds of peace that belong together. The first is peace with God. We are born at enmity with God because of sin, and that war inside us spreads into every other relationship. That peace with God only comes one way, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, for He made peace through His blood on the cross. When you place your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, the war with God is over. You are no longer running from Him or fighting against Him.
The second is the peace of God, the settled keeping of your heart and mind in the middle of chaos. The prophet Isaiah says God will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him, because that person trusts in Him. Jesus said to His disciples, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives. The world cannot understand this peace, and the world cannot give it. Peter calls it a peace that passes human understanding. It does not depend on your coworker's mood changing or your circumstances becoming easy. It comes as your mind is turned toward Christ and you rest in the knowledge that He will take care of what concerns you.
That is why grace and peace are always linked in the New Testament, and always in that order. You cannot know the peace of God until you have first received the grace of God. If you are trying to earn God's favor by working harder or trying to fix everything yourself, you will not have rest. Peace comes as you receive His grace and learn to trust Him more fully.
It also helps to see your situation in a larger light. We live in a world of conflict because of the original rebellion against God, and we each feel that conflict within ourselves, the struggle between what we want to do and what we actually do. That same unrest shows up in workplaces and homes. It is right to pray against evil and to ask God to protect you, but it is also important not to simply label another person as the problem. She is a person made in God's image who, like all of us, needs the healing and forgiveness that Jesus alone can give.
God calls His children to be peacemakers, not just peace wishers. The wisdom that comes from above is peaceable, and the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. To sow peace means to ask God how you can bring His peace into that place, even in small ways, through patience, kindness, a gentle answer, and steady prayer.
Scripture also encourages you to seek the peace of the place where God has put you and to pray for it, for in its peace you will find peace. You can pray for your workplace in that way, and you can pray for this coworker by name, that God would work in her personal life and bring her to know His peace. The deepest need she has is not just for circumstances to calm down, but to have peace with God through Christ, because without Him there is no lasting peace. God says peace, peace to those who are far off and to those who are near, I will heal them, but there is no peace for those who continue in rebellion against Him. His thoughts toward you and toward her are thoughts of peace, not of evil, to give hope.
So I encourage you to keep your mind stayed on Christ at work, to bring your anxiety to Him in prayer, and to ask Him to guard your heart with His peace. And pray for your coworker not only that the tension would lift, but that she would come to know Jesus and that God would bring true peace into her heart and life. As you sow peace, God promises you will reap its fruit.
Let us pray together. Father, we thank You for the peace that You offer through the blood of Jesus Christ. We ask first that You would deepen this one's peace with You as they trust in Your grace, and then that You would fill their heart with Your perfect peace as their mind stays on You. Guard their heart and mind in Christ Jesus. We lift up this coworker to You. You see what is troubling her and what is happening in her personal life. Bring Your healing and forgiveness to her, draw her to Yourself, and let her know the peace that only Jesus can give. Help us to be peacemakers where You have placed us, to sow peace and to trust You to bring the fruit of righteousness. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our peace. Amen.
