Don't Lose Your Peace
by Gerry Fry
The first words Jesus spoke to His disciples when He appeared to them on the day of His resurrection were, “Peace be with you.” By His death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day, Jesus could declare that this gift of peace was now given to every believer in Christ. By His grace, we are made children of God and brought into the kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Remember, this peace that is given to us is not just the absence of conflict and trouble, but it literally means our “entire well-being” and everything that makes for our total welfare, wholeness and complete prosperity. But Satan and his demon powers, together with our old flesh nature and the world system, want to rob us of this peace. Through many different kinds of snares — unbelief, pride, wrong attitudes, fear, worry and other things as well — our peace can be destroyed. When we lose our peace, it gives the enemy opportunity to rob and plunder our minds, our emotions, our bodies, and our families. And consequently, this keeps us from the fulfillment of the promises of God in our lives.
When God first gave the revelation of “Yahweh-Shalom,” it was at a time when the Midianites and the Amalekites were plundering the land, stealing the produce and livestock of the Israelites. Judges 6 tells us that Israel was “greatly wasted” and the people of the land hid in caves. It was amidst this condition in Israel that the Lord came to Gideon and said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid,” and Gideon built an altar, calling it “Yahweh-Shalom” — The Lord is Peace! It was then that Gideon and his 300 men routed the enemy and restored Israel to days of blessing and prosperity.
Jesus is our peace, the One who came from heaven to destroy the destroyer, to set us free from the bondage and plundering of the enemy, and to redeem us in order to live life in total restoration of wholeness and well-being. By the grace of God, and through our Lord Jesus Christ, we can live in His kingdom of peace.
A kingdom where Jesus spoke to a dying woman with a blood disease who had touched the hem of His garment: “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:34).
A kingdom where Jesus said to a sinful woman who anointed His feet and bathed them with her tears: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace!” (Luke 7:50)
A kingdom where Jesus promised in His last message to His disciples before He went to the cross, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful” (John 14:27).
A kingdom where Jesus encouraged His closest followers: “In Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but fear not — I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
When circumstances arise that threaten our peace, we need to remember four powerful declarations in the Bible that remind us that our God is a God of peace:
Romans 15:33 states, “The God of peace be with you.”
Philippians 4:9 also proclaims, “The God of peace be with you.”
I Thessalonians 5:23 contains this prayer, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”
In Hebrews chapter 13, we read: “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (:20-21).
God is at work in our lives, so let's keep on rejoicing and be filled with thanksgiving — that by His grace He will provide everything we need to carry out the will of God and to live overcoming lives!
Whatever is robbing you of your peace of mind, the welfare of your future, the prosperity of your being, the wholeness of your emotions and the tranquility of your heart — meet that with the truth that Jesus is the God of peace.