The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace… Gal 5:22

I am reminded of a children’s song that the kids liked to sing when I taught at a Christian school years ago. The song is I’ve Got Peace Like a River.

I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river,
I’ve got peace like a river in my soul.
(repeat)

I’ve got love like an ocean,
I’ve got love like an ocean,
I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul.
(repeat)

I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain,
I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul.
(repeat)

The world’s longest underground river

The peace that passes understanding is a gift from God. It is like a subterranean river that flows often undetected below the surface of the earth. The earth may experience droughts, floods, wars, hurricanes, tornadoes, death, divorce, unresolved conflicts or other disasters, but the underground river keeps flowing.

The October 28, 2010, National Geographic News reported that: “Divers exploring a maze of underwater caves on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula have identified what may be the longest underground river in the world. This subterranean river twists and turns for 95 miles” and it maintains a constant 76° temperature.

Stephen Bogaerts, the British diver who discovered the underground river said, “The water isn’t just flowing through these underground rivers … 98 percent of the water is actually trapped in the rock.”

The peace that the Lord wants to give us is the same. He wants His peace to so permeate our beings that we, too, can maintain His perfect, constant peace. Yes, we will encounter our own twists and turns, but He wants us to experience His steadfastness, His calm, His serenity even in the midst of a storm.

When the disciples were in the boat and alarmed that the boat might sink, Jesus was sleeping.  He exemplified God’s total peace.

Peace is a gift from our loving heavenly Father. I find it interesting that the children’s song includes the first three fruit of the spirit.  I think that the three fruit are interwoven together. We can’t conjure up this type of peace, buy it, manufacture it, borrow it, or inherit it. It is solely given to us by God the Father Himself. The last stanza of the song includes all three.

I’ve got peace, love, joy like a river,
I’ve got peace, love, joy like a ocean,
I’ve got peace, love, joy like a fountain in my soul.
(repeat)

My heart’s desire is that all of us will be able to experience the peace that passes all understanding. I pray that it will flow like a river, overflow into an ocean and bubble up with fountains of joy in your life and mine.

~Marianne