Note 17 at Col. 3:15: The understood subject of this sentence is "you." You must LET the peace of God act as umpire (see note 18 at this verse) in your heart. The word "let" means "to grant permission to, allow" (NAHD). God's peace is always present in our hearts to give us the direction we so desperately need but we don't always give it our permission.

Note 18 at Col. 3:15: The Greek word from which the word "rule" was translated is BRABEUO, which means "to arbitrate, i.e. to govern" (Strong). This Greek word was a variation of the Greek word BRABEION which means "(an umpire), an award (of arbitration), i.e. a prize in the public games" (Strong). This was a sports term that paints a powerful "word picture."

The Wuest translation of this phrase says, "...let the peace of God act as umpire in your heart...." The Amplified translation of this verse says, "And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from the Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts - deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds - [in that peaceful state] to which [as members of Christ's] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful - appreciative, giving praise to God always."

Just as every sport has disputes that must be settled by the officials, the peace of God is the umpire that settles all disputes as to what the will of God is for our lives. We must learn to listen to and heed the peace of God in our hearts.

God's peace is something that every born-again (see note 2 at Jn. 3:3, p. 92) believer has. It's a fruit of the Spirit (see note 18 at Gal. 5:22, p. 1084). That peace is always umpiring; we just don't always pay attention. How many times have we acted contrary to the peace in our heart and after we experience disaster, we say, "I never did feel good about that." That was the peace of God umpiring, but we played by our own rules.

There are some things we can do to facilitate the peace of God umpiring in our heart. First, consider ALL the options. Many wrong decisions have been made because not all the options were considered. Don't let fear rule out God's possibilities.

Next, use your imagination to explore what will happen with each choice. You should be able to discern a greater peace as you consider the option the Lord would have you to take. That is not to say that there will be total peace with any of the choices. In your spirit there will be total peace over the right choice, but we aren't always totally in the Spirit and it is not unusual for there to be some turmoil. Just as an umpire has to make a call, be bold enough to follow the direction that gives the most peace.

The rudder on a ship can't give any direction until the ship is moving. The ship doesn't have to be going "full steam ahead" for the rudder to work. But it does have to be moving. Likewise, we have to act before "the peace of God" will give us perfect direction. Even if you make a mistake, you will have made it in faith, trying to follow the peace of God in your heart. The Lord can bless a wrong decision made in faith from a pure heart more than He can bless indecision (Rom. 14:23).