Peace of God

I have expressed to other Christians that I am living the scriptures that speak to having a peace in Christ that the world could never provide, or that count my trials as joy. I express that this is a feeling and lifestyle that is hard to explain, or even understand until appreciating its reality in my own life. After such an expression, some have said to me that I should just wait, because it won’t be so easy when things get really tough. I explain that I am praising God in the peaks and in the valleys, but they reply that this just would not last. Some considerable time has passed since then, and I still remain living in the serenity of God’s love, no matter how stressful or intense my circumstances become. I have considered their guarantee of the fallibility of God’s promise to come to fruition, but have certainly concluded that God’s promises dominate my difficulties unless I let my difficulties dominate Gods promise.

This is not to say that I don’t get stressed out anymore. Certainly we as Christians will get stressed, and frustrated, and struggle with patience. We see even Jesus was so stressed the night before he took on the sin of all mankind and was sentenced to death by means of excruciating pain, that he was sweating blood. So we will become stressed out, BUT we can experience peace during it, or much sooner after it when the love of God fills our hearts.

Lets take a look at the scriptures to see what God has to say on the matter.

Philippians 4:6-7 – ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

John 14:27 – ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

 

John 16:33 – ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

Psalm 29:11 – The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.

 

Psalm 119:165 – Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

 

Isaiah 26:12 – Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.

 

1 Corinthians 14:33 –  For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

 

2 Thessalonians 3:16 – Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.

 

Romans 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

So if I could summarize all of this up, it would seem to say that God gives those who love His Word, and His Son Jesus, a peace that is so abundant that it can be barely explained. When we let our stress distract us from the peace that God is offering us, we may lose sight of the peace, but that is not because it has been withdrawn from us. It is only because we forget to bask in it. Let us allow God to fill us with His love and peace.