Strength Through Peace

Read time:

10–15 minutes

You are encouraged to read all Scripture references in their context, may His word feed you. All excerpts are from the NASB version unless otherwise noted.

The Peace of God is Upon Us

As Jesus concluded his intimate teachings with the disciples during Passover before He was crucified, He summarized it all and told them all that was to be. In John 14-17 (a rich summary of His ministry, our calling, and His measure toward us), He imparts great comfort and hope to sustain them and begin preparing their spirits for when He ascends to the Father.

For they were promised a joy that could never be taken away. A hope in what was set before them and what they were to accomplish. They were promised Holy Spirit that would accompany them, lead them into all truth, intimacy and communion with Jesus and the Father in a way they hadn’t experienced with Jesus in the flesh. But amidst it all, something noteworthy stands out in what Jesus directly imparted… His peace. Not peace, but His peace.

“Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.”
(John 14:27)

Easy to overlook, this is a fundamentally rich matter. Honestly, devastatingly so. Like the clothes He wore, His peace was witnessed in His mindset, it was felt in the power He walked in, it was in every word spoken, every miracle performed, every plan made. Everywhere Jesus went, He imparted peace, for He dwelled in it. It was Holy Spirit upon Him.

His peace where He rested in the word of God 40 days and nights without food in the midst of the desert, then endured destiny-defining temptation (Matthew 4).
His peace where He rested to the point of deep sleep in the midst of a storm, then awoke, rebuked and calmed the waters (Matthew 8:23).
His peace where He rested in the Father’s will and remained still and silent amidst His accusers and abusers. Led as a lamb to slaughter, silent before its shearers (Isaiah 53:7).
Important to consider that peace didn’t surface as a tool to serve it’s role during points of conflict, it was in all things, but was naturally highlighted when the more violent reactions from fear should have been there, but wasn’t.

Peace is not merely the absence of fear, but it is the proactive, enabling presence of a resting place from which the goodness of God abounds. Imagine abiding in love without peace. Imagine basking in joy without peace. Imagine sharing kindness without peace. Imagine pure worship unto the Lord without peace. Imagine walking in authority without peace. Imagine fearlessness without peace. Imagine power without peace. Imagine self-control without peace. In all these pictures, there is an unseen platform upon which the life and light of God abounds – it is peace. It is the enabling factor. The variable that makes possible.

The peace of God is upon us as the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Always accessible. Always available. It is to clothe our spirits and be the place from which we live.

What Peace Isn’t

A) The entire principle of peace can be misunderstood as an ideal state that lies at the end of something else. Attained under the right circumstances but not available in the present moment because conditions aren’t suiting.

Peace is only available in the home if the dishes are cleaned, the kids aren’t screaming, the house is restored in cleanliness. Felt once the chores are done and the family is able to sit down and watch a movie and enjoy each other’s company.
Peace is only available in life on the top end of the wave… when “things are good.” Everything at work is going well, friendships are bringing joy, connection with the spouse is blossoming. When one’s view on life’s outlook is positive and the coffee was extra good today.

But if peace is reliant upon external circumstances and the conditions of our environment, it isn’t peace, it is serenity. The lack of disturbance. It’s a feeling caused by conditions that are pleasant. And pleasant they may be, but come next morning when the house is a mess, or be passed over for a promotion, or wake up and see that your life isn’t what you wanted or going where you want it to go, or your political party is losing power, or see someone prettier on the street and roil in your insecurity – where is the peace?

“Not as the world gives, do I give to you.” If peace was concocted, it can be undone. If we are subject to our circumstances, we are slaves to the feelings they create. What if peace was greater than our circumstances? Greater than the conditions present before us? Able to be accessed even in the midst of tension? When it would be normal to stress, shouldn’t we be at ease?

B) Peace is also considered a resting place for transition and refuel, like-in we come in from the fields to eat, rest and then get back to work again. A transitionary period from which one is restored into the right frame of mind or emotion until it is used up and needed again. A landing pad for the airplane before headed back up. Was it for Him?

There is the dynamic where we are invited to pray into a place of peace. Where we exchange our hearts for what is His, being strengthened by the Lord. But even in those moments, are we not to come with faith that He hears us and that His goodness is towards us? As a prince to the king, how anxious would you be to ask him for what you need, knowing that he is both capable and able and is loving toward you to provide? How much less are we to be in our exchange with our Father? Are we in need of Him? Always. Does He withhold Himself from us? Never. What is there but peace for us, in every place and in every thing? Is that not how Paul said to, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Thankfulness, not as a measure of effort, but of reaction to the truth.

We’ve Only Ever Known Peace through Strength

In his State of the Union address in 1793, George Washington declared, “If we desire to secure peace… it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.” President Reagan subsequently coined the foreign policy philosophy with “peace through strength.” While articulated as the core of American foreign policy, it succinctly describes the philosophy of every play for security in the history of humanity, corporately and personally. The attempt to gain what you don’t already have through means that masquerade as the answer. It results in:

Discipline without
joy.

Authority without
confidence.

Power without
rest.

Effort without
hope.

In the absence of peace, fear reigns and it’s fruit sprout to oppress.
Restlessness & Anxiety. Need & Burden. Frustration & Disappointment. Insecurity & Shame.
Masked behind denial and shallow phrases, and sometimes worse – masquerading as a noble trait.
Security will only be available for as long as we can maintain our posture. It is impossible to maintain.

The reason we tire, the reason we want when we don’t have, the reason we feel unsatisfied when we do, the reason why you can have the whole world and not be fulfilled is because there is no peace. For those that don’t have anything, but are at peace, have everything. For they are alive. They have God.

The Prince of Peace, Reigns with Peace

Jesus came and conquered, and now reigns as King of Heaven and Earth. And wherever Jesus reigns in us, among us, He reigns with peace. This prophecy was for all of the saints, not just Israel:

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You will multiply the nation,
You will increase their joy;
They will rejoice in Your presence
As with the joy of harvest,
As people rejoice when they divide the spoils.
For You will break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
For every boot of the marching warrior in the roar of battle,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of armies will accomplish this.
(Isaiah 9:2-7)

We are not servants of the Almighty, just hoping for a promise at the end and saying the right things until it comes. The Kingdom of Heaven is here! It reigns among us. And this peace is imparted to us now!

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
(1 John 4:18)

It is commonly known that fear and love are the binary choices for decision making. While that’s true, it should be noted that the love of God casts out fear and replaces it with peace. It is the assumption within our mindset, it is felt in the power we walk in, it is in every word spoken, every miracle performed, every plan made. Everywhere we go, we impart peace when we dwell in it. It is the presence of Holy Spirit upon us.

The Principles of Peace

The presence of peace is determined by what we subject ourselves to. Fear or love.
- Jesus Christ is King, but we can still subject ourselves to slavery. He came to free, but He does not remove us by force. He paved the way, slayed the rulers, the gates are open. But we choose who our master is.
- We are called to a complete surrender. For anything less than everything is not worthy of Him. Where He reigns, there is peace.
He loved us first. He found us first. His goodness is our confidence.
- “We love, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
- Everything we are in Him, is because He first revealed it to us.
- Those who seek Him, find Him.
His is sufficient.
- “He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God only.” (C.S. Lewis, see his work, Weight of Glory)
- Not where we find ourselves white-knuckling for a hope in a far distant promise, but where we abound in life because He life itself and everything else is a shadow. We don’t settle for contentedness, we find ourselves content in Him.
He does it all.
- We don’t fix ourselves. We don’t fix others. He is the essence of change.
  - By the power of His Spirit people we are made free (2 Corinthians 3:17).
  - It is His goodness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).
  - His grace is sufficient for us (2 Corinthians 12:9).
  - When Jesus died, we died with Him. That man is dead and we are now alive in Christ. When He said, “It is finished,” He declared it for all time. It is all over. We are now alive.
- The division of labor here is one-sided.
  - He created us.
  - He met us.
  - He reconciled us to Himself.
  - He fills us with His Spirit.
  - He gives us purpose and hope for the great calling here and now.
  - His grace extends from past to future, covering all things and enabling transformation.
  - He enables us to stand before the fullness of His glory and not shrink back, but rejoice.
  - We cast all that we are before the Lord and claim Him as our own, loving Him with all our heart and mind. Repentance is being changed by the word He speaks.
We are invited to accept things, they way they are. Risky language, but worth pushing the envelope…
- There is a reason why the first stage in AA meetings is to “Admit I was powerless over alcohol.” Why “acceptance” is the last stage in grief before healing can begin and why denial was the beginning of its trouble. Why the Devil’s Snare tightens more quickly when you resist.
- Acceptance isn’t saying anything about how things should be, it is acknowledging they are. For he who rests in the anointing of grace, there is no striving to make perfect. For we who stand before the Almighty God, now and forever, a saint, holy and blameless, there is no fear of what is. For grace has covered it. Our desire for God, out of love for who He is, is sensitive to the leading of His spirit and brings us to change by the presence of His grace in our repentance.
- Acceptance doesn’t result in being complacent for the things around us, but realizing that the world is in desperate need of God. We see what God sees, and moved by His heart, moving in-step with Holy Spirit to bring the love of God, revealing the knowledge and fragrance of Christ in every place.

Resources

Bill Johnson captures the powerful dynamic of the disciples encountering Jesus after His death and the impartation of peace upon them.

A beautiful song that has frequently ministered to me, bringing the weight of His love to bear, in how His love abounds towards us.