Peace Y’all!
“Peace,” do you have it or do you feel like the man who had a sign on his desk that read: “I’ve got so many troubles that if anything else happens to me, it will be two weeks before I can even worry about it.”
The New Testament speaks of two kinds of peace—the objective peace that has to do with your relationship to God, and the subjective peace that has to do with your experience in life.
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
His peace is not like the peace of the world. The world’s peace is worthless. Since 36 B.C. there have been nearly 15,000 wars. Before World War II the world had an average of 2.61 new wars every year. But since World War II despite all of mankind’s “enlightenment,” and organized efforts for world peace, there have been an average of three new wars every year. The New York Times once observed that “peace is a fable.”
The peace Jesus is speaking of enables believers to remain calm in the most wildly fearful circumstances. It enables them to hush a cry, still a riot, rejoice in pain and trial, and sing in the middle of suffering. This peace is never by circumstances, but instead affects and even overrules them.
It is a supernatural, permanent, positive, no-side-effects, divine tranquilizer.
The peace Jesus spoke of is further defined as “… the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
The word for “guard” does not mean to “keep imprisoned.” It is a military word, meaning “to stand at a post and guard against the aggression of an enemy.” When peace stands guard, believers have a citadel from which nothing or nobody can dislodge him. Jesus is that sentinel.
Most worry and stress comes from either the past or the future. The defense against them is that the provision Jesus offers covers both. He is committed to caring for our future needs and forgiving our past misdeeds. Therefore, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). The word translated “rule” is the Greek word ‘brabeuo,” which means “to act as umpire.” The appeal is to so depend on the peace of Jesus that it becomes an umpire in the decisions you have to make in life, ruling them safe or ruling them out; to do or not to do.
Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace. It is a greeting often heard in Israel whether greeting a person or bidding one a farewell. Practically it means “I hope you have the very best coming your way.” The peace Jesus provides is the very best. With confidence in Him and reliance on Him you can have that peace. Rejoice and enjoy it. Shalom.