Are You Looking for the Peace of God?

Dennis Edwards

Are you looking for the peace of God? Are you looking for that peace of God that passes all understanding? In other words, are you looking for that inner peace that may not even be logical, a peace of mind and heart that you cannot figure out? Let us look at the peace of God spoken of in the Bible.

How do we find that peace?

Apostle Paul writes, "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."[Romans 5:1] Paul is telling us that the way we find the peace of heart and mind is through Jesus, through our relationship with Him. To the Ephesians Paul writes, "For He is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us."[Ephesians 2:14] The first step in our pursuit of peace is accepting Jesus into our lives and letting Him bring us peace with God. He will give us peace and mind of heart for all the wrong we have done, if we just come to Jesus.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus speaking to His disciples of the His depature and the sending of the Holy Spirit as a Comforter says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."[John 14:27] Jesus is telling His followers that the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, would come and give them the peace they would need to confront the difficulties ahead. He warns them not to be afraid as fear is the enemy to faith and the enemy of the peace that faith brings.

Jesus goes on to say to His disciples, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."[John 16:33] Have you ever noticed how we use words to comfort and assure others, maybe our grandchildren or friends, that everything is going to be all right? The fear they may be experiencing vanishes as they rest on our words, our assurances. Jesus is doing the same with His disciples who will soon see Him captured by His enemies.

Jesus is warning His disciples of the difficulties that lay ahead. He says, "I am telling you these things ahead of time that you may keep you peace. Don't be dismayed. Don't be discouraged. Be encouraged. Remember when you are going through your tribulations that I have overcome and will overcome the world and all the evil that it stands for."

Just as our grandchildren hold onto our words of assurance in moments of fear and anxiety, we, too, must hold onto the words of our Father, of our Big Brother Jesus and believe what He has said. The Apostle Paul gives us some more information of how we may have access to the "peace that passes understanding." Let us read from his letter to the Philippians.

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful (or anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Apostle Paul is giving us a step by step process to obtain the "peace that passes understanding." First, we begin by using praise and thanksgiving in our lives. Paul tells us to "rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice." He even emphasizes praise by repeating himself. Therefore, praise is an important element in our being able to find peace. 

In the psalms we find innumerable references to the importance of praise. "Enter into Thy courts with thanksgiving and into Thy gates with praise."[Psalm 100:4] In fact Psalm 22 says that God dwells in the praises of His people. In the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and Israel we can read of marvellous exploits that God accomplished for His people because they sought Him in their difficulties and used praise and song as part of their military strategy.[2 Chronicles 20]

Apostle Paul tells us not to be anxious because he knows worry and fear debilitate us. Corrie Ten Boom said, "Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength - carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time.Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength." Jesus also commanded us to not take anxious thought for tomorrow because today's problems were sufficient enough to handle.[Matthew 6:34]

So far we have seen we need to use praise and thanksgiving. We need to resist worry and then, "Make your request be known unto God through prayer and supplication." We need to pray and cast those burdens, fears, worries, all up into the hands of God and let Him take care of them. The psalmist writes, "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee."[Psalm 55:7] Jesus said if we come unto Him with all our heavy burdens, all our problems, He would give us rest.[Matthew 11:28] What is rest, but peace of mind and heart.

The formular that Apostle Paul presents is number 1.Praise and thanksgiving. 2.Do not be anxious or worried. 3. Prayer and supplicate to God. 4. God will send you His peace for the situation. Mother Teresa had another formular. She said, "The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace." In other words, if we stop and get quiet the effect that quietness will have on us is that it will lead us into prayer, into approaching God in some form with our heart, mind, and words.

Prayer will cause us to find God and give us faith. Faith will then cause us to realize God's love for us. The love we receive from God will transform us into wanting to love and serve others. Our love and service for others will result in the peace we sought at the first. We have all experienced when we have volunteered to help others, that it is indeed "more blessed to give, than to receive."[Acts 20:35]

In Isaiah we see a similar formular as Mother Teresa's. "And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." Again we see that the fruit of righteousness ends up being peace and quiet assurance. But God's word is clear to remind us that our own righteousness is stinking menstrual rags. It's only as we find His righteousness that we come into peace with God and have the possibility to live at peace with our fellow man. 

The Enemy of our soul tries to stop us from entering to the peace of Christ, the peace that passes all understanding. In the book of Hebrews its called "entering into His rest." We enter into His rest when we cease from our own strivings, our own self-righteous accomplishments, and come humbly into the arms of Jesus and accept His love, mercy, and rest - the peace that passes understanding. It is not anything we deserve or work for. It's the gift of God's love and mercy and in humility must be received.

But we must wage militant warfare against the Enemy of our soul lest we become wearied and faint in our minds. The Lord says, "I shall keep you in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Me, because you trusts in Me."[Isaiah 26:3] Apostle Paul gives us the same admonition in his letter to the Philippians which we have been reading above. He says,

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."[Philippians 4:8] We must fight the good fight of fight. That fight is often in our own minds. Our minds are the battleground. We must bring our thoughts to be in line with God's good Word. "Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them."[Psalm 119:165] Loving and meditating on God's word will help us find peace.

The Apostle James, also, touches on the topic of peace. Let us read from James:

"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out of good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."[James 3:13-18]

Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."[Matthew 5:9]

If we listen to the admonitions of the prophets and disciples, and Jesus Himself, we can find that quiet assurance, that peace of mind, that we search for. We will find it because we have Christ's presence with us. He is our peace and enables us to have peace with one another. It is He that gives us His peace. It is He that sends us His peace as we seek to live for Him and serve others. Then we can say and do as the psalmist: "I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makes me dwell in safety."[Psalm 4:8] Or as we find in another psalm: "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace."[Psalm 29:11]

Let us end with an old prayer of blessing found in the words of Moses: "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."[Numbers 6:24-26]