SEVERAL YEARS AGO I FELT LED TO TEACH ON THE subject of peace. I spent an entire day sitting in the middle of my bed studying. I felt as if I were looking for something concerning the subject of peace, and yet I did not know what it was. I searched the Scriptures, waiting for the light of revelation to come to me, and came across this passage: “Now after this the Lord chose and appointed seventy others and sent them out ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to come (visit). And He said to them, The harvest indeed is abundant [there is much ripe grain], but the farmhands are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.
“Carry no purse, no provisions bag, no [change of] sandals; refrain from [retarding your journey by] saluting and wishing anyone well along the way. Whatever house you enter, first say, Peace be to this household! [Freedom from all the distresses that result from sin be with this family].
“And if anyone [worthy] of peace and blessedness is there, the peace and blessedness you wish shall come upon him; but if not, it shall come back to you. And stay on in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house” (Luke 10:1–7).
As I read, I saw something that I had never seen previously in these verses. I felt the Lord was showing me that peace and power go together. When Jesus sent the disciples out to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God, He told them to find a peaceful place to reside and stay there. He told them that they needed a “base of operations” that was peaceful. I felt the Holy Spirit saying to me, “Joyce, if you want to have a powerful ministry that will help multitudes, find peace and stay in it.”
At that time I was not very peaceful. I still had a lot of inner turmoil, and I still caused a lot of upset in my relationships with others. I had not yet learned the importance of conflict-free living. The Spirit showed me that just as He told the disciples to find a peaceful place and let that be their base of operation, I was to be His house—His base of operation—and He wanted the house He was working in to be peaceful.
I wanted to minister under a strong anointing, and I had been praying about it regularly. God was answering my prayer by showing me what I needed to do to enable the anointing to flow.
Why Peace and Power Go Together
God’s anointing is always resident in the believer. The apostle John wrote in his epistle, “But you have been anointed by [you hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from] the Holy One, and you all know [the Truth] or you know all things. . . . But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you; [so] then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him], just as [His anointing] has taught you [to do]” (1 John 2:20, 27).
While believers always have the anointing, the manifestation of the anointing is vital to powerful living and powerful ministry. As we have seen, strife definitely hinders the flow of God’s power: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph. 4:30–32).
Strife grieves the Holy Spirit and will separate us from the power and anointing of the Spirit. However, the power of peace binds us to the Holy Spirit, as we see in Ephesians 4:3: “Be eager and strive earnestly to guard and keep the harmony and oneness of [and produced by] the Spirit in the binding power of peace.”
One might say that peace and power live together. They are married; they support each other.
The Power of the Anointing
The anointing of the Holy Spirit is one of the most important things in my life and ministry. It ushers me into the presence and the power of God. The anointing manifests in ability, enablement, and strength. The anointing ministers life to me. I feel alive and strong physically when the anointing is flowing, as well as mentally alert.
When we live in peace and harmony, we unleash God’s anointing for more than just ministry. I believe there is an anointing for everything that we are called to do—not just for spiritual things. We can be anointed for cleaning the house, for doing laundry, for leading a home or business, or for being a student. God’s presence makes everything easy and enjoyable.
People laugh when I say this, but there is an anointing that comes on me to shop. If it’s there, the trip is very fruitful and enjoyable. If it’s not, I cannot find anything I am looking for. I can’t seem to make decisions about what to buy. Even if I find something I like, I don’t seem to have any real desire to buy it. I say in times like that, “If I buy anything today, it will have to jump off the rack and just get on my body.”
What other kinds of things may we expect to be anointed for? I believe a woman can go to the grocery store and be anointed I believe a woman can go to the by God to shop for her family’s groceries if she will exercise her faith to release the anointing. If she gets upset with the grocery store because they don’t have some items she wants, the anointing will stop flowing for her trip until she returns to a peaceful state and the strife disappears.
I believe there is an anointing to go to your place of work and to enjoy being there.
I believe there is an anointed sleep we can enjoy when we go to bed at night. However, if a person lies in bed and thinks of some situation that is full of strife, he or she is not likely to sleep well due to fretful dreams or tossing and turning all night.
I believe there is an anointing to go to your place of work and to enjoy being there. The anointing will also help you do your job with ease. Again, if you have strife with your boss or with other employees, the anointing will be blocked. Whether the strife is open or hidden within your heart, the effect is the same.
So, keep strife out so that you can live by the anointing. God has given it to you to help you in all that you do. Things are not accomplished by might or power, but by His Spirit. (See Zechariah 4:6.) Stay peaceful and calm; be quick to forgive, slow to anger, patient, and kind. Protect the anointing in your life, and sow good seeds by helping others do the same. In so doing, you will reap a harvest in your own time of need.
Protect the Anointing
The Word of God teaches us to watch out for one another. This is part of the love walk. We read in Hebrews 12:14–15, “Strive to live in peace with everybody and pursue that consecration and holiness without which no one will [ever] see the Lord. Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace.”
We can help our loved ones walk in peace by maintaining peace, especially when we know they are already under pressure. For instance, my family knows that just before one of our services, I am busy meditating on what God has given me to minister that day. I have asked them to refrain from telling me anything right before a meeting that would tend to be upsetting. They help me by trying to keep the atmosphere peaceful.
We can help each other to avoid strife by being a little more sensitive to one another’s needs. For example:
■ When a husband comes home from an especially trying day at the office, his wife can minister peace to him by directing the children into an activity that creates a calmer atmosphere rather than a chaotic one.
■ When a wife has been cleaning and cooking all day for a special holiday family get-together the next day, her husband can minister peace to her by taking the children somewhere for the evening so that she can have a nice long block of quiet time.
■ If a child has been taking final exams for a week and is already under stress, the parents might choose to withhold correction for a messy room or leaving a bike out on the driveway until the stress of the exams has ended.
After being married to Dave for more than forty years, I can tell when he is tired or not feeling good. I have learned to minister peace to him at those times instead of bringing up a problem to him right then. He is a very peaceful man and would probably handle himself quite well even if I did bring up a problem, but there is no point in adding weight to an already heavy load.
Grace is unmerited favor. We can do others a favor and help them protect the anointing by not placing undue pressure upon them during times when they are most vulnerable to strife. For me, this time is when I am getting ready to minister. For you, it may be some other time or circumstance. It’s important to know when you are most likely to succumb to conflict so that you can protect the anointing and experience God’s power in all of your life.
Jesus had multiple opportunities to be in strife, and yet, without hesitation, He turned every one of them down. Even as He hung on the cross He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). Judas, Herod, Pilate, and the Pharisees all presented Him with opportunities for strife. He turned every one of them into an opportunity to show forth His Father’s character. Instead of strife, He responded with gentleness, courtesy, and patience.
With His help, you can do the same. You can meet the enemy head-on. Paul wrote to Timothy (and to us), “But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels. And the servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must be kindly to everyone and mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]” (2 Tim. 2:23–24).
We can do others a favor and help them protect the anointing by not placing undue pressure upon them during times when they are most vulnerable to strife.
The anointing of God is upon you for whatever your task. Don’t give it up in order to satisfy some fleshly emotion that is pushing you to act like the devil instead of God. Don’t block the flow by allowing strife in your life. Be all that God has called you to be. Live at peace with yourself, with God, and with others.