The Peace of God

In my last post, I wrote about how to find peace with God, forgiveness of sin and restored relationship with the God who created us. But sometimes even the saved aren’t living in God’s peace. Why is that?

I think it is often because—either through neglect, rebellion, or simple spiritual inertia—we have at some point stopped making faith a part of our daily lives.

Now, I don’t mean by that statement that we have stopped doing the things of faith, or cast off faith in the form of “religion” as the world would call it. We still call ourselves Christians, but like the disciples, we forget Who it is we are following and what He is capable of.

Like the time the disciples found themselves on a boat in the middle of the stormy sea of Galilee, with Jesus sleeping soundly through the winds and waves which threatened to sink the boat. Heedless of the miracles they had seen Jesus do, healing the sick and even raising the dead (Luke 7), they woke the Lord with the panicked words, “Master, Master, we perish.” (Luke 8:24)

When Jesus calmed the storm, they were filled with fear and wonder, saying, “What manner of Man is this! For He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey Him.” (Luke 8:25)

For the saved in Christ, there is no reason to be afraid of the storms of life, no reason to fear the uncertain (or the seemingly certain) things of the future, for our God is the same as He has always been. He can raise the dead, heal the sick, calm the storm—and He can also give us grace to endure anything He calls us to endure.

So, if there is no cause for fear or uncertainty, why are we so often lacking the peace of God? Perhaps we need to be reminded of a couple passages which tell us how to have the peace of God. The first is Philippians 4:6-7

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

It’s a familiar passage to me, but I so often need its reminder that a lack of peace is often due to a lack of prayer, or at least, a lack of leaving the things I pray about with God. I don’t know about you, but I tend to struggle with casting my cares upon the Lord (1 Peter 5:7) only to take them back again a minute later.

But we can leave our cares and worries with the Lord. He certainly is worthy to be entrusted with the things about which we so deeply care.

Another passage that mentions the peace of God is Colossians 3:15, which says,

“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

Sometimes, a lack of God’s peace is due to the fact that we will not let God’s peace rule our hearts. Whether it’s those cares we have caught up again after casting them on the Lord, or looking for peace and comfort in other things, we can easily reject or try to replace God’s peace.

But nothing else can satisfy those empty places in our hearts. It takes nothing less than God’s peace to soothe our heartaches and heal the wounded places. Only God’s peace goes with us into our trials and sorrows—the world has nothing that can assuage doubts, fears, worries, or griefs. And the peace of God is there available to us every moment, if only we will let it rule our hearts.

So, dear Reader, are you living in the peace of God today? Or are you letting the whirling winds of uncertainties and the crashing waves of doubt or dread disquiet your soul? If you have already accepted the gift of peace with God, run to Him again, not for salvation this time, but for revival. Let His peace rule your heart and mind, then thank Him for the miraculous gift of peace.

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord.” 2 Peter 1:2