How to Find and Share God’s Peace in a Violent and Hurting World

Spiritual Life

Audio By Carbonatix

By Whitney Hopler, Crosswalk.com

We live in a fallen world that often feels overwhelmed by violence. Every day, the news reminds us of the brokenness around us. We hear of tragic events, like school shootings, happening regularly, leaving families and communities shattered. We see the political divides here in the United States escalating, even to the point of political leaders being assassinated (from Republicans like Charlie Kirk to Democrats like Melissa Hortman). Internationally, wars rage on, claiming countless lives. Violent crime and terrorism also happen regularly in both our nation and around the world. So much fear and anxiety swirl in our violent world that it’s easy to feel despair.

But as Christians, we always have a hope we can rely on. Jesus, our Savior, is there to help us when we face the sin and evil that cause our world’s violence. Jesus says in John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” These words remind us that even in the middle of violent chaos, we can find peace through our relationships with Jesus. Not only can we find the peace we need, but we can also share that peace with others by working as peacemakers in our world. Jesus says in Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Here are key ways we can both find and share peace in our violent world today:

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How to Find God’s Peace

The Bible explains how we can find peace from God that is much stronger than any kind of violent circumstances we’ll ever encounter.

Pray about our concerns: Philippians 4:6-7 encourages us to pray about everything that concerns us, and God will respond by sending us his peace that will guard our hearts and minds: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Prayer is our direct line to Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). It’s the way we can follow the advice in 1 Peter 5:7 to: “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”

Trust our good God: One of the greatest sources of anxiety when we see so much violence happening is the feeling that our world is spinning out of control. We may question where God is, even though we know God has given humanity free will and grieves along with us when people choose violence. The Bible assures us that God is good and that he is working for good, even in the most tragic situations. Romans 8:28 points out: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” When we choose to trust God, the peace we can experience is a perfect peace. In Isaiah 26:3, the Bible promises that God “will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” God is always doing redemptive work to bring good out of even the worst situations.

Focus our minds on what matters most: Our minds are a spiritual battlefield. What we allow to occupy our thoughts directly impacts our spiritual and emotional well-being. If we dwell on the bad news of violence in our world, we’ll lose our peace of mind. Philippians 4:8 advises us: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” We can choose to set our minds on things above, as Colossians 3:2 urges us to do. We can pray immediately about violent situations we learn of from the news. We can also be strategic about how much we dwell on thoughts about the violence that’s happening, such as only checking the news at certain points of time each day and scheduling a few minutes to reflect on God’s goodness before going to bed each evening.

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How to Be Peacemakers in Our World

God calls us to share his peace with the world around us. We have active roles to play as peacemakers in this violent world.

Live at peace with everyone as much as possible. Our world is increasingly polarized. People are too often divided along political, racial, and socioeconomic lines, even though God wants us to live in unity as members of his family together. Romans 12:18 urges us: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” This verse acknowledges that we can’t control how others act, but we’re responsible for our own efforts. We can do our best to leave at peace by respecting people with different perspectives, listening to people to try to understand their points of view, looking for common ground with people, refusing to participate in gossip or slander, and above all by keeping in mind that every single person – even our enemies – has been made in God’s image and is loved by God.

Forgive others, since Jesus forgave us: So much of the world’s violence comes from ugly conflict cycles of unforgiveness, bitterness, and revenge. Jesus calls us to break these cycles. We can do so by choosing to forgive the people who have hurt us – not because they deserve it, but because Jesus has forgiven us of our own sins. Colossians 3:13 teaches us: “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18 reminds us that the tremendous grace we’ve received from God should compel us to be gracious to others. As peacemakers, we should be the first to forgive and work toward healing broken relationships when others are willing. Forgiveness is a powerful witness in this violent world that thrives on division.

Advocate for justice: We need to advocate for justice by not remaining silent about evil and taking action whenever we can to right wrongs. As Micah 6:8 says: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Being a peacemaker is not the same as being a people-pleaser. That’s because true peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice and righteousness. We can bring justice and righteousness into violent and unjust situations by speaking the truth in love, like Ephesians 4:15 encourages us to do, and to take action to help vulnerable people when God gives us opportunities to do so.

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Prayers for Peace and Peacemaking

Here are some prayers we can offer to God as we seek to find and share peace in our violent world:

A prayer for inner peace: “Dear God, I’m feeling overwhelmed by all the violence in our world. My heart is heavy with the news I hear and the suffering I see. I confess that sometimes fear and anxiety try to consume me. God, please fill me with your perfect peace, which transcends all understanding. Help me to trust that you are in control and doing good work to redeem human sins, even when tragedies are happening. Guide my thoughts to focus on what is true and positive. I cast all my burdens on you. Thank you for caring so much for me. May your peace guard my heart and mind. Amen.”

A prayer to be a peacemaker: “Dear God, I want to be an instrument of your peace in this broken world. Please forgive me for the times I have contributed to division or held onto unforgiveness. Give me your strength to forgive other people who have hurt me, just as you have forgiven me. Give me wisdom to speak truth with love, to advocate for justice, and to help vulnerable people. Help me to live in harmony with others and work toward unity rather than division. Use me to bring your light and your peace into the darkness of our violent world. Help me point people to your great love. Amen.”

A prayer for our world: “Dear God, my heart breaks for the violence and suffering in our world. Please send your comfort and healing to all the victims of violence, such as children in school shootings, leaders who are targeted because of their political views, people who are caught up in wars, and more. Help everyone who’s traumatized by violence in any way, like the families and friends of violence victims, and all of us who struggle with fear by simply living in this violent world. Continue to inspire people to end conflicts and work for peace. Raise up faithful leaders who will serve as peacemakers. Reach out to the people who commit violence, and help them change into peacemakers if they respond to you. I want to see your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thank you, God. Amen.”

In conclusion, violence is common in our fallen world and we all feel the pain of that violence. Jesus, however, will empower us to overcome this violent world. As we trust and rely on Jesus, we can find the peace we need, and we can share that peace with others who need it. The tragedy of violence is real in our world, but the hope we have in Jesus is much stronger!