PEACE THAT TRANSCENDS ALL EARTHLY TURMOIL

 

                            

A man sought the perfect picture of peace. He announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists and paintings arrived from far and wide. The judge’s uncovered one peaceful scene after another, while the viewers clapped and cheered. Finally he had two to choose from. As he pulled the cover from one, a silence fell over the crowd. A mirror-smooth lake reflected lacy, green birches under the soft blush of the evening sky. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner.

Then the second painting was uncovered and the crowd gasped in surprise. Could this be peace? A stormy ocean threatened to burst inland clearing everything on its way. Dark clouds threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In a small cave by the ocean a little bird had built a nest. Content and undisturbed by her stormy surroundings she rested in her nest. With her wings ready to cover her little ones, she manifested peace that transcends all earthly turmoil.  (A Wardrobe from the King)

Philippians one of the Bible books was written by Apostle Paul to a church he had planted during his second missionary journey. It’s a “thank you” letter to a church that had helped him financially. The letter starts with blessings “grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:2). The word grace and peace are used in so many New Testament letters. Paul introduces all his letters with these two words. What do these words mean?

These two words have been used since the Old Testament times. God told Moses to tell Aaron and his sons that this is how they were to bless the Israelites “The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” so they shall put my name on the sons of Israel, then I will bless them’ (Numbers 6:24-27). The priests were to let the people know that he is the source of all blessings. They were told to ask for grace and peace on behalf of the people; these blessings would not come to them automatically.

Grace is doing something for someone that he can never deserve, earn or repay. God told the priests to ask for grace because he is gracious; he is also a forgiving and forbearing God. Because of their sinful nature the Israelites needed his grace or else he would destroy them.  They kept falling into sin and God would punish them for it. But he was gracious to them, he had compassion on them and would not destroy them or cast them from his presence” (2 Kings 13:23). God is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and abounding in love. He relents from sending calamity, a broken and contrite heart is all that he requires (Ps. 51:17, Joel 2:13).

God’s grace is the only way to be reconciled to God. Paul wrote to the Ephesians “for it is by grace that you have been saved and it is not from yourself. It’s a gift of God not by works so that no one can boast”.  The grace of God brings salvation to all men (Titus 2:11). It’s a privilege to be saved, think about the many sinners around you, it’s not because you deserved salvation and they did not. God was only gracious to you.

The priests were to ask the Lord for peace (shalom). God knew the Israelites would face many challenging and disturbing situations that they would require peace. The original word for peace (Shalom) stands for wholeness and total satisfaction in life. Peace is something every person yearns for; worries prevent many from having inner peace. Sin separates us from God (Isa. 59:2); it robs us of peace with God (Ps 51:8-12).  Paul says “therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God (Rom 5:1). A right relationship with God results in inner peace and tranquillity of the soul. Peace points to the inner well-being and wholeness that comes from being reconciled to God.

Believers have peace not because there are no storms in their lives but because God is present with them no matter what (Isa. 43:2, John 16:33). Jesus told his disciples “peace I leave with you, my peace I give you” (John 14:27). This was much more than an empty wish, it came from him who had the power to make peace and to confer it on them.  Paul told the Philippians that the Lord was near, so there was no need to be anxious about anything, his peace that surpasses all human understanding would guards their heart and mind (Phil 4:6,7). God’s peace is beyond man’s ability to understand and to explain.

When one is at Peace with God, he also receives peace from God. Peace is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22). Paul’s prayer for the Romans was “may the God of hope fill you with great joy and peace as you trust in him  so that you may overflow with hope  by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:13).  In Isaiah 26:3 we have this wonderful promise “you will keep in perfect peace, whose minds is stayed on you, because he trusts in you”. Some people can have peace but it is fleeting, others can be kept in peace but it is not perfect peace. The peace of the wicked is peace of spiritual sleep; when they say peace and safety sudden destruction comes on them (1 Thess.5:2-3). God keeps his own in perfect peace.

The promise of perfect peace is followed by an advice to “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, God is an everlasting rock” Isaiah 26: 4.  A rock is strong, stable and permanent.  God is not one thing today and another tomorrow; he does not say one thing today and a different thing tomorrow.  The father of light does not change like shifting shadows (James1:17). What he was to Abraham, Jacob, David, Paul, he is to those who trust and follow him today. His promises in the Bible are as real to those living today as they were to the people in the Bible times.

To be kept in perfect peace our mind must be stayed on God. Where we set our mind is essential in our walk with God. Almost always you keep your mind stayed on whatever you are trusting. Proverbs 3:5 expresses this same idea “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”.  There are things that happen in life that will be beyond our understanding therefore if we lean on our understanding we shall lose peace. We need to trust that God is good and he knows what he is doing even if we don’t understand him. To enjoy perfect peace we need to trust in the Lord forever because he is a rock and he is good.

We cannot avoid strife in this world, but we can know perfect peace in the midst of turmoil as we rest in God and take Him at His word. In Luke 8: 22-25 Jesus was fast asleep in the midst of a fearful storm that terrified His disciple. The key to his peace was the knowledge that His times were in the fathers hands (Ps.31:14, 15). He trusted him and therefore rested in peace. He knew that he wasn’t going to die one second before God’s scheduled time and that if now was the time nothing could prevent it.

Like the Old Testament priest, Paul started his letters by asking God to be gracious and to give the recipients peace. Paul genuinely desired the Philippians to experience grace and peace. He wrote “Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” He reminded them of the wonderful grace offered from the Lord. Having received such grace, they should be compelled to live in grace, enjoying its fullness and bestowing such grace to others.

He longed for them to experience peace as well. Peace would offer comfort in the midst of adversity and console them in times of grief. Lest they should forget, Paul reminded them the Sovereign God of heaven was the source of the grace and peace they enjoyed. The eternal God was continually at work in their lives. Again Paul emphasized the significance of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were what they were because of Christ! He was the reason they were reconciled to God.

We have received much in Christ, but there is nothing greater than His grace and peace. We need both daily to function as the Lord would have us do. We need His continued grace in our lives and we must be willing to offer such grace to others. We desperately need peace in our lives as well because many times we face great uncertainties. We need peace to reign in our hearts to calm the anxieties so prevalent in our day.

Peace should permeate every aspect of the Christian life. If you know God’s grace and peace, you will become a gracious, peaceable person toward others. You will show grace to them because God’s grace is real in your life. You will seek peace with them (Ps.34:11-14, Phil 4:8, 9) because God’s peace floods your heart and He commands you to live at peace with others, as much as it depends on you (Rom. 12:18).