Peace
An inner quietness and trust in God’s sovereignty even in the midst of any situation, such that we are made complete and whole in Him.
There are two forms of biblical peace.
Objective peace relates to our relationship with God and is restored through the person of Jesus Christ. Subjective peace is related to our experiences in life and is influenced by the leading of the Holy Spirit within us.
Christ our Peace
Our understanding of this fruit, just like the rest is modelled through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He came to restore and restore our relationship with God such that we can enjoy wholeness by trusting in God’s sovereignty in our lives.
"Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us."
Romans 5:1
This objective peace is needed because of the hostility that was brought between God and Man due to the fall of the First Adam. We see that sin entered the world through the first Adam in Romans 6:12. Therefore, the work Christ completed on the cross restored unity and peace back into our relationship with God. Such that we can trust in His goodness and faithfulness in completing His work in us. Now because of this initial conflict introduced into our world we need to constantly put “on all of God’s armor so that we will be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11). One of those armors we use is the ‘shoe of peace’. The shoe of peace that comes from sharing the Good News so that we can be fully prepared. This means we have peace in sharing the Gospel trusting in God’s sovereignty to show up, even in the midst of spiritual battles we may encounter in the form of resistance. Moreover this peace is settled and secure it isn’t dependent on our feelings or what we think because God’s Word, which is the Gospel is the foundation of truth. We have no need to fear or panic, which are some of the opposites to peace.
Perfect Peace from Fixed Thoughts
Meanwhile subjective peace is a tranquility of our soul that comes from relying in God as our great provider and sustainer in all situations.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:7
To guard our hearts means that this peace is kind of like the armor we spoke about earlier in that it acts as a defense against negative thoughts, hostile actions and hopeless situations. Imagine the anxiety and fear that gripped those disciples on the boat with Jesus when the he simply stated “Peace! Be Still!” Mark 4:38 – 41. And this is the result of the presence of Jesus in a stormy situation. He has given a Helper in the person of the Holy Spirit to give us the same authority to say to the stormy situations in our present life “Peace! Be Still!”
Isaiah 26:3 states that;
"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"
What does it mean to have ‘perfect peace‘?
It means we are undisturbed and unperturbed by what we see or feel or what is imposed on us. Having peace doesn’t mean we are oblivious to the reality we face but we learn to prioritize and place our focus instead on the sovereignty of God. We leave the things we cannot control in the hands of the Lord and focus on working on the things we can focus on.
“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.”
John 16:33
Shalom
The rich and full expression of God’s will for us in the midst of every situation we encounter. The Hebrew “Shalom” which is usually linked to peace and is popularly used as a greeting to end or start conversations and can loosely be translated to meaning “May you be full of well-being, health and prosperity.” It was used as a way to proclaim health and wholeness and good well-being to those one conversed with.
Therefore, we end today’s blog post wishing all Shalom!
May the peace of God grant us inner strength and deep focus such that we shall look to and wait on God even as we enter this glorious weekend. Amen!
According to Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace himself give us His peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with us all.”
AMEN
Further Study/References:
Breakdown of Shalom
Gift of Peace article
#SeekGodMore
Mo 🙂
A young woman on a mission to discovering purpose, to inspire growth and contribute to the Kingdom mandate. On the blog we are all about learning and growing and this is done through writing on topics from Faith, Education, Music, Food, Travel and so much more… (Romans 12:2)
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