First Steps for Inner Peace

"that you may become Children of Light”

When Jesus Christ sent seventy missionary disciples throughout the Holy Land two thousand years ago, He sent them to proclaim that the Kingdom of God was in their midst with demonstrations of power to heal and to impart His peace. It is a peace that does not imply only the absence of anxiety or inner division; rather, it implies the presence of the Spirit of Jesus, which brings not only peace, but also charity, joy, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. But, receiving, growing in and being filled with this peace isn't automatic. It involves certain steps for the renewal of mind and the transformation of heart so that we can become children of light not only to receive, but also to impart God’s peace.

The first five steps show us how to begin to receive and to grow in this peace. It establishes our friendship and partnership with Jesus, the Prince of Peace. As long as we are walking in the light and love of the Spirit of Jesus, that is what really matters.

1.     Listen to your conscience and seek to live a noble life. The first step in receiving the Spirit of Jesus and God’s peace is to listen to the voice of God in our hearts telling us to do good and to avoid evil. Every person has the capacity to hear this voice. Those who don't listen to their conscience and live only thinking about what pleases them without any reference to doing what is right, don't have the capacity to receive this peace. When we realize that we have the choice to live a noble life and we begin to repent of the goodness that we lack, then the process of preparing to receive God's peace begins.

The understanding that we are all called to greater things—to something more noble—can occur gradually and often begins with an encounter with God's love as well as His beauty, truth and goodness. This can happen through other people or writings—especially the New Testament—that shows us what it means to live a good life in imitation of Jesus. Even if we don't recognize that this love comes from God, we can already see that the horizons of what it means to live a rich and meaningful life are much greater than what we had previously thought.

2.     Believe in the Light and renounce darkness and sin. God is Light and Jesus is the Morning Star that brings light to our minds and hearts. When we begin to walk in the light and love of the Spirit of Jesus, we begin to see the materialistic culture that surrounds us: the culture of abortion, abuse, adultery, fornication, theft, deceit, and lies. We begin to recognize that we cannot have one foot in each world. A choice must be made. If we want to live a good life and experience the peace that surpasses all understanding, we must renounce the darkness and choose to believe in the Light. In humbly and sincerely repenting of our sins, we are able to receive peace from Jesus.

3.     Pray daily to God in your mind and heart. The only way to grow in our inner peace is to grow in intimacy with God by setting aside time each day to enter into conversation with Him. Nothing can substitute for a daily encounter in which we listen to God, give praise and thanks to Him as well as ask for forgiveness and for what we need, especially for the Spirit of Jesus. This process of renewal and transformation is about entering into an intimate partnership of life, light and love with Jesus. This conversation should be sincere, including even expressing negative emotions. God delights in our transparency.

4.     Be merciful and forgive everyone, including yourself. Reflecting God’s merciful love in works of mercy is at the heart of loving God. The light and love that God wants to pour out into us is also for those around us. Jesus assured us that only the merciful can receive God's mercy. This begins with forgiving all those who have hurt or offended us. We cannot hold resentment towards anyone—including God. We must also pray for our enemies and persecutors, as well as for those who have earthly authority.

5.     Bring light and help to dark places. Be the light. Those who have begun the process of surrendering themselves to God and becoming missionary disciples of Jesus, are able to carry His presence in a way that bears spiritual fruit for others. We must shine wherever He has placed us with the ardent light and love that only comes from God. The world doesn't really have a problem of darkness; it has a problem of a lack of light. We must be thermostats and not thermometers. A thermometer reflects the temperature of the environment, while a thermostat sets it. When we become children of light, we will proclaim the Kingdom of God with the power to heal, including especially inner healing, and to impart His peace to the world.

The next steps in this process lead us in being filled with the peace of God as our friendship and partnership with Him grows and is made perfect. It is not enough to be close to God, we need to learn how to lean on Him and not on our own understanding. It means that God will call us out of our comfort zone as we shift from asking Him to bless our plans to asking how we can bless His. We will do our bit—and He will do the heavy lifting. Listening, trusting, and doing whatever the Spirit of Jesus tells us or nudges us to do—this is the daily plan for a true disciple.

Completing the final steps in being filled with His peace will allow the Spirit of Jesus to renew and direct us more intimately with his light and love and to transform us into the men and women that we were created to be. In this process of renewal and transformation, a spiritual mentor is often of crucial importance. MorningStar.Charity is committed to providing this mentoring to those whom God has called to be His chosen Children of Light in the world.

The peace of the Lord be with you! Shalom, shalom!! 

Deacon Frederick Everett (Papa Fred)

November 23, 2025

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe