Day 11
Peace
The Peace of God
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
There is nothing more beautiful than peace with God. It sets you free from all the turmoil and doubt in your life that weighs heavily on you because of your sinful nature. And once you accept his forgiveness, the peace of God becomes yours.
The kind of peace that surpasses all understanding is only available through the Holy Spirit himself. If you try to generate peace on your own through making life just like you want it, you’ll fail every time. Even if you try to set the stage for peace by being diligent to guard and protect it, you will only have a cheap imitation of peace. Unending peace in all situations isn’t generated by human strength, because as long as you’re exerting your strength, your body is active, not at rest. There is no self-help book, no relaxation CD, and no exercise that will give you true peace. A soak in a nice bubble bath with candles and soft music might seem like the epitome of peace, but it’s just the calm before the storm. That’s why so many people say things like, “If life is going good right now, look out, because trouble is on its way.” This idea comes from the fact that people try to find peace in circumstances, but knowing that Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33 NIV), they see no way around it. And when that trouble comes, the peace based on circumstances hightails it out of town. So they end up just waiting for the other shoe to drop, fearing the chaos that is sure to come after too much serenity in life.
But this is a lie. It’s a bald-faced accusation of God, calling him cruel and heartless. Thinking that peace is fleeting and that chaos is just around the corner assumes a God who loves to toy with you and torture you with the occasional ambush just to keep you on your toes. Nothing could be further from the truth. God is anything but cruel; he is a loving Father, a kind and merciful God who has only your best interests at heart. But as he said, this life is full of trouble; it’s the nature of a sinful world. But right before and after this statement of trouble found in John 16:33 are these words: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace” and “take heart; I have overcome the world” (ESV). This tells us that yes, there will be trouble, but peace is still yours, even in the midst of it, because of who Jesus is—God, the overcomer of this world. So no matter how bad things get, it’s all peace, all of the time, to those who take heart in the life of Christ. When you have peace with God, you get the peace of God in your life.
This peace then provides you release from fear of the future and fear of the present. It keeps you from striving to make your life just how you think it ought to be and helps you instead rest on the fact that God makes life just how it should be. The Holy Spirit working in you confirms God’s sovereignty in all of life. That means that when times get tough and trouble hits, his voice assures you that all is well and that there is no need to worry because he works everything out for your good. He has plans you can’t understand, and if you will allow him to be Lord of your life, he will do with you many great things—things that might involve pain and suffering but that will prove to be for your perfection and peace. The life of Joseph is a great example of this. He went through a lot of turmoil at the hands of his hateful brothers, was sold into slavery, and was put into prison. Yet all this was meant not to destroy him but to save him and his family (see Gen. 37–50). When you have peace with God, you have peace in all situations because you are certain that as a temple of his Holy Spirit, you are forever in his charge and guarded by his mighty hand.
What are your thoughts on God? How would you describe him as a Father and protector?
How do these thoughts agree with these descriptions of him—kind, loving, trustworthy, faithful, gentle, merciful, generous, righteous, patient, forgiving, and compassionate?
If you have a hard time seeing God as a gentle and trustworthy God, then ask him today to reveal himself to you.
Luke 6:36
Psalm 57:10
Lamentations 3:22–24
- Read It
Read the following passage out loud three times:
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. (Ps. 103:8–13)
What does this mean in your life today?
In what ways have you forgotten or ignored these things about God?
- Pray It
Dear God, thank you for the gift of peace in every situation. I confess that I sometimes believe that when life gets good, you are about to make me suffer. I have had a wrong idea of who you are. Thank you for your kindness, love, and goodness. I know you are compassionate and merciful, and because of that you offer me the gift of perfect peace. I accept it today and ask you to speak it to me in all the situations of my life. I love you. Amen.