Today, we’re jumping into an interesting query: how can we find peace? Wow, that’s a loaded query, if ever there was one. Merriam-Webster dictionary would tell us that Peace is defined as “a state of tranquillity or quiet,” but other definitions noted are as follows:
- Freedom from civil disturbance
- A state of security or order inside a community provided for by law or custom.
- Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions
- Harmony in personal relations
- A state or period of mutual concord between governments
- A pact or agreement to finish hostilities between those that have been at war or in a state of enmity.
- Also used interjectionally to ask for silence or calm or as a greeting or farewell.
Reading that list, I’m sure each of us, in a single place or one other, struggles with peace in our lives. Whether we’re in a war-torn country, a city with protests, debates, or voting season, a house with disunity, or a hostile workplace. I’m sure we’d all wish to know true peace in our on a regular basis lives. But I suppose most of us will ask the query, is it even possible to live a peace-filled life on the earth we live in today? I am unable to blame you for wondering or pondering this concept, given the world we live in appears to be in disarray, it’s dark, and now we have gone back to Babylonian days “where every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).
I’ll be honest: on this side of heaven, we are going to all the time have physical, mental, environmental, or socioeconomic trials that fight for our peace and try and starve us of it. But what if peace isn’t present in circumstances or places? What if it will not be physical or geographic? What if peace is present in an individual? In the Bible, we read multiple verses that remind us that Jesus is our peace. Ephesians 2 tells us,
“But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were distant have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself (Jesus) is our peace”. (Emphasis mine)
Another of those verses is usually recounted at Christmas and reads:
“For to us a baby is born, to us a son is given, and the federal government shall be on his shoulders. And he shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
This verse is a written reference to the prophecy of Jesus coming because the Messiah. Right initially of scripture in Genesis 3, we see the primary humans God made, Adam and Eve, sin against God. In response to this sin and to reconnect God and humanity, God sets a plan in motion for His son, who’s at the correct time to return to earth. In those 33 years, He lives for instance to us, dies in our place, after which rises again on the third day before going back to heaven to take a seat at the correct hand of the Father for eternity. This verse in Isaiah is a nudge to that very same story and talks of Jesus being our Prince of Peace.
This implies that in Him, we will find peace. It won’t be a short lived peace that’s fleeting, and more often than not, we cannot even have the option to make sense of it, but we are going to have the option to know that peace for eternity, as Jesus is everlasting and everlasting.
Just before Jesus is arrested and tried for His impending death on a Roman cross, He speaks within the upper room to His disciples or followers. In that point, He tries to organize them for the dark days that lay ahead and yet the enjoyment that lay in the long run also. John 14:27 tells us that Jesus says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I offer you. I don’t give to you because the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and don’t be afraid.” And so, we see here that the peace Jesus gives to us allows us to not fear or be troubled but to trust in God and to lean into Him even within the hard times. Jesus’ peace is exclusive and in contrast to anything we could know elsewhere. Philippians 4:7 tells us that
“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ.”
Again, we see that the peace of God is crucial for us as Christians because it guards our hearts and minds in Christ. I doubt I would like to recount all of the ways in which each day living could cause anxious thoughts, worrying hearts, and a scarcity of peace in our lives, and yet in some way, unexplainably, we will achieve peace in God by simply trusting Him to direct our paths. Trusting Psalm 23, God will set us in green pastures and at still waters, provide Himself within the empty moments, and be present once we are alone. We have to trust Him to listen once we pray and act upon it.
These usually are not empty statements and don’t depend on feelings; somewhat, they’re the facts. When the devil comes along and tries to remind you that you just are a sinner, that dark things occur, or that the world is messy, remind Him that the sovereign God is your anchor and that you just are trusting in Him since it is God who gives you peace, strength, and joy!
Friend, I actually do hope you understand the peace that passes all understanding and have a phenomenal and thriving relationship with Jesus. But if you happen to don’t, please reach out to me or a neighborhood church. We would really like to introduce you to this Prince of Peace now we have talked about today. Why would you do life alone when you might have a friend like Jesus who sticks closer than a brother? A friend who can actually change your life and the lives of those around you miraculously. What if peace is an individual, and you might find that in Jesus, leaving all of your torment and trials to Him? I hope you understand Him, but when not, please consider your options.
Photo Credit: © Unsplash/David Marcu
