A common idea among believers today, is to wait for the peace of God when deciding what to do in a situation. Often-times you may hear the phrase “I’m just waiting for the peace”.
Yet even if you have never used or heard that particular statement, the idea is usually still present.
Today we will be looking at what it means to truly walk in peace, and how this commonly held idea of waiting for peace, is not actually how believers should be living their lives.
Our scripture today is from John 14:27, and it reads:
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you: not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
These are the words of Jesus – the very words of God.
God, the the wealthiest being in all the universe, the most rich in all things – both material-wise and in-spirit – has chosen to bequeath us a gift. Now He is not just our God, but also our loving Father. A Father who is not greedy, nor is He a miser… He loves us deeply and He knows how to give good gifts to His children – and rejoices in doing us good.
So here He tells us of the gift which He is leaving to us – it is a shame to point this out, but honestly how many of us have actually taken time to value this gift?
When I have read this scripture with someone for the first time, their initial reaction was “that’s all?”
And really if we are being honest, most of us have probably thought that one or twice.
We see here though that the peace of God is not simply “peace” as we think of in the world… No, Jesus says that it is more.
First of all, establishing the wealth and richness of God our Father, and also His goodness, it makes no sense that He would leave us something of no value. This peace is actually a greater blessing which brings with it everything else. the very words for peace– Shalom in Hebrew, and Eirene in Greek, mean among other things, “completeness, wholeness, and rest”
Jesus also says that He gives it “not as the world gives”. See if the world gives something, it can be taken away; if the world gives something, it is subject to the curse and to decay over time.
But not the peace of God, His peace is eternal and everlasting, it is above all the curse and can ever be taken away.
Finally, Jesus tells us to “let not our hearts be troubled, or to be afraid.” and this brings us to the opening statements of the message today.
The life of a believer, should be a life filled with the peace of God. The peace should always be there… it should be our natural state of existence. If one is “waiting for the peace” that would indicate that it is not there to begin with.
Your natural state should be one of peace, and when faced with an important decision if then the peace is not there, that already tells you that the direction is not a good one. However this is not the same as fear… Fear is never to be obeyed or to be hearkened to at all, for fear is not of God.
Above all, listen to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Your lives should be always at peace, and when the peace is lost, you know something is amiss.
Instead though, most believers today live outside of peace, and “wait for the peace to come” to know if something is right. – and that is totally backwards.
Walk in the path of peace always… walk in the gift that our LORD has left to us. A peace, His peace, not as the world gives hes He given to us. Accept it, use it, and most of all, live in it.