Hugged by God

The dictionary says that peace is “a state of tranquility or quiet, freedom from civil disturbance, a state of security or order, freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions, harmony in personal relations, a state or period of mutual concord between governments” and so on. None of those kinds of peace come close to the peace that is offered by Jesus Christ.

Before Jesus came, when the Old Testament prophets wrote about the coming Messiah, they used the word peace. He was to be the Prince of peace, bringing peace to His people. 

And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. . . . (Micah 5:4–5a)

Of course the Jews thought this meant that Messiah would end all wars, and certainly free them from political oppression. They didn’t understand that they first needed a different kind of peace.

The Bible says that all mankind is at war with God. Sin (going our own way instead of His) is a form of hostility. Scripture talks about our “fist in His face” attitude toward God, but it also talks about the wrath of God on sin. This hostility goes both ways. Not only that, there was enmity between the Jews who knew they were the people of God and the pagans or Gentiles who did not have the same history or privilege. However, when Jesus came, He ended all that.

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility. (Ephesians 2:14)

This peace is the end of enmity between me and God, and the conflicting difference between Jews and non-Jews. In the Bible, it is called “peace with God” because Jesus paid our penalty for sin and satisfied the wrath of God against us. He gives all people opportunity to be His people, not just the Jews.

But there is another kind of peace. This one depends on the first one because no one can have it unless they also have dealt with the sin issue in their lives. That is, peace “with” God is necessary to experience the peace “of” God. Jesus described it like this . . .  

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

I can never lose my peace with God. It is established by Jesus Christ, not by anything I do or do not do. Since Christ came into my life, this is no animosity or enmity between me and my Lord, and never will be.

However, I can lose that peace of God, or the sense of it. If fear, anxiety, or any contrary attitudes well up inside me, the peace of God gets pushed out. This is why Paul wrote:

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

This happened yesterday as I struggled with my hubby’s blood test results and what that means for our not-so-distant future. Then God spoke to me about my worries. He pulled my thoughts back to Himself and to His goodness for me. As Micah says, He stands to shepherd me, to keep me secure. He is doing His part; I need to do mine.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

Doubting God will drive away peace. So will a focus on doom and gloom and worrying about its possibility. His promises to give me His peace have nothing to do with doom or gloom. His peace is not like the world’s peace. It depends on absence of disturbance but the peace of God surpasses human understanding. It is there, deep within, no matter what.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4–9, italics mine)

God does not ask me to be in denial. Instead, He asks me to find my joy in Him and to be reasonable in my demeanor. I know the way of life. Here I will experience trouble and turmoil, not heaven on earth. This is reasonable thinking. Yet one day all of my trials will be over and I will enjoy perfection forever. Besides, God is with me. He tells me to pray with thanksgiving about all the matters of concern. In return, He will give me that “peace that passes all understanding.”

**************

Father, I know all this is true. You do not advocate denial or even positive thinking (even though the above verses advise positive thoughts). Instead, the peace You offer is entirely supernatural. I’ve seen it on the face of a new widow as she turned from the burial place of her dead husband. I’ve seen it in the life of a woman whose husband is dying and in many others who have never married and live alone. You have given it to me when I was in great physical pain, when one of my children ran away, when I was horribly betrayed by another. Your peace is nothing like the peace of the world. It does not depend on pleasing circumstances; it bubbles up from Your Spirit who lives in my heart. You fill me with a sense of well-being even when there is nothing that can be described as good. Your peace is for me a great strength, often unexpected, but incredibly assuring. You are my peace.